Sobir, honoree of Order of Distinguished Rule of Izzuddin passes away

Ambassador of the Republic of the Maldives to Japan Hassan Sobir who had been awarded with The Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Izzuddin for long-time contributions to the state has passed away today.

Sobir passed away at the age of 74 while undergoing treatment at Tree Top Hospital.

Sobir had been battling illness for several days and was unable to attend the Independence Day ceremony held yesterday due to health and the award was accepted on his behalf by his daughter.

Sobir has served the state for a long time in the economic field, with tourism and fisheries and agriculture being major parts. He has also made valuable contributions to the planning and implementation of development projects in Maldives, with his work in the foreign sector seeing results as well.

In 1978 during former President Maumoon's administration, he was appointed as the Statistical Survey Officer of the National Planning Agency, an agency that was created during said administration. In 1979, he went to the United States to gain further education and experience in his aforementioned field. After he came back, his most important work as the Statistical Officer of the National Planning Agency was the 1985 census. He was also responsible for bringing in the first computer to Maldives.

Sobir served as a lawyer to the Ministry of Planning and Development after it was formed, following the abolishment of the National Planning Agency in 1982, with him holding many senior positions in the ministry afterwards. He was also the Minister of Fisheries in 1993 and the Minister of Tourism in 1998 and 2003.

Maldives' famous motto, 'The Sunny Side of Life' was created when he was minister.

Sobir was also the first to establish the state-owned water company, Maldives Water and Sewerage Company Pvt Ltd (MWSC), and served as its chairman.

In 2004, Sobir served as Maldives' Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He also worked to seek foreign aid to help Maldives recover from the tsunami that struck that same year. Sobir has also served as the Maldives' ambassador to Singapore, the European Union and Japan.