Hassan Saeed

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Dr. Hassan Saeed (Dhivehi: ޑރ. ޙަސަން ސަޢީދު) is the present attorney general of Maldives.

Dr Hassan Saeed was appointed as the Attorney-General at the age of 33 years by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on 11 November 2003. Educated in Pakistan and Malaysia before earning his PhD in the University of Queensland in Australia, Dr Saeed had served as the Chief Justice of the Criminal Court before being appointed as Attorney-General. A leading member of the New Maldives faction of the governing Maldivian People's Party (DRP), Dr Saeed was elected as the Vice President of DRP in April 2006. The same month he also co-founded with Dr Ahmed Shaheed, a fellow graduate of the University of Queensland and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Open Society Association of Maldives which is committed to creating a modern liberal democracy in the Maldives. The relatively obscure Dr Saeed was thrust on to the limelight as President Gayoom began a new term of office committed to a rapid overhaul of the country's archaic governance system and legal framework, shortly after riots rocked the capital in the aftermath of the killing of four persons in prison, discrediting the country's archaic penal and legal system. A champion of democracy and human rights, Dr Saeed is credited with overturning the ban imposed by his predecessor, Dr Mohamed Munavvar on the registration of political parties, facilitating the introduction of a multiparty system into the Maldives in June 2005. His other legal opinions and practices have widely strengthened freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and, together with is New Maldivian associates, had lobbied and obtained pardons for the draconian sentences imposed on dissidents prosecuted by his predecessor between 2001-2002. Dr Saeed has quickly built a reputation for being a mover and shaker and is among the most ardent supporters of the reform agenda proposed by President Gayoom. Candid and forthright, Dr Saeed is recognised across political spectrum as one of the emerging leaders of the Maldives. The Criminal Justice System Action Plan that he produced in March 2005 is a five-year plan to completely overhaul the country's legal framework, penal system and the judiciary. The new Penal Code that he had tabled before the parliament last year is expected to sail through with bipartisan support, as it is seen as achieving a modern synthesis between Islamic Sharia and internationallegal norms. Together with Foreign Minister Shaheed and the Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed, Dr Saeed is also the chief architect of the Roadmap for the Reform Agenda published in March 2006. Dr Saeed is aslo an advocate of liberal Islam and is the co-author of the book, No Apostasy in Islam.

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