Ferial Ashraff Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Hon.
Ferial Ashraff
Honorific-Suffix:MP
Office:Minister of Housing Construction & Industries, Education Development in Eastern Province & Irrigation Development
Office2:Minister of Housing & Common Amenities
Constituency Mp3:Ampara
Parliament3:Sri Lanka
Term Start3:2000
Term End3:2010
Birth Date:20 August 1953
Nationality:Sri Lankan
Spouse:M. H. M. Ashraff
Party:Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Otherparty:United People's Freedom Alliance

Ferial Ismail Ashraff (born August 20, 1953) is a Sri Lankan politician. She was the wife of M. H. M. Ashraff, the deceased leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the National Unity Alliance.[1] She was the Minister of Housing and Common Amenities under President Chandrika Kumaratunga. She was a representative of Ampara District for the United People's Freedom Alliance in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. She resides in Colombo.

After contesting at General Elections in 2000, she was able to win the Digamadulla seat at the Parliament,[2] and later went onto hold the position of the Minister of Housing and Common Amenities.[3] 2010, she was appointed to the board of the National Institute of Education. In 2011 she was appointed to the position of Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Singapore.[4]

Political career

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, which was founded by M.H.M. Ashraff in 1981, facilitated for the entry of Ferial Ashraff into politics upon the death of her husband for a brief period of time,[5] which led to a power struggle for a new, charismatic leader from the East, a position that both Ferial Ashroff and the SLMC Deputy Leader at the time, Rauff Hakeem contested for. Upon her failure, she broke away from the group and formulated the National Unity Alliance (NUA), a multiethnic political party that sought to center itself upon more than the Muslim Majority Identity.[6] [7]

Further reading

See also

Notes and References

  1. "Former SL Minister Mrs. Ferial Ashraff appointed to National Institute of Education", Lankanewspapers.com, 30 December 2010, retrieved 2011-03-26
  2. Web site: Editor . Brunch . 2022-03-25 . A life of changing roles lived by an extraordinary woman, Ferial Ashraff . 2024-03-29 . Brunch . en-US.
  3. Web site: Parliament of Sri Lanka - News - List of Ministries and the Relavant Ministers with effect from January 28, 2007 . 2024-03-29 . www.parliament.lk . en-gb.
  4. "New appointments in diplomatic service", Sunday Times, 6 March 2011, retrieved 2011-03-26
  5. Jayasundara-Smits . Shyamika . September 2011 . 'Conflict, war and peace in Sri Lanka; Politics by other means ? . Conference: Rethinking Development in Age of Scarcity and Uncertainty: New Values, Voices and Alliances for Increased Resilience, EADI/DSA General Conference . 10 . Institute of Social Studies, The Hague.
  6. Fazil . M.M. . December 2009 . Fragmentation of Muslim Politics in Sri Lanka: A Critical Analysis of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) . International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities . 10 . Researchgate.
  7. Ahmad . Zarin . April 2012 . Contours of Muslim nationalism in Sri Lanka . South Asian History and Culture . en . 3 . 2 . 269–287 . 10.1080/19472498.2012.664435 . 1947-2498.