Seyed Ahmed Seyed Alavi Moulana (1 January 1932 – 15 June 2016) was a Sri Lankan politician, who entered politics in 1948 as a

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. He was the 5th Governor of Western Province, having assumed office on 1 February 2002. He was a member of the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...

, Cabinet

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

, and a councillor in the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 muni ...

. He was the Senior Vice-President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was also a social and religious worker. He also served as acting Governor for

Sabaragamuwa The Sabaragamuwa Province ( si, සබරගමුව පළාත ''Sabaragamuwa Paḷāta'', ta, சபரகமுவ மாகாணம் ''Sabaragamuwa Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrati ...

in 2009.

Political career

Alavi Moulana entered politics in 1948 as a Trade Unionist. In 1956 he joined the

and in 1960, under the leadership of

Sirimavo Bandaranayake Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...

, he became the leader of the Trade Union Movement of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Moulana was appointed as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the Senior Vice-President of the Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya. He was a councillor in the

for a period of 10 years. In 1994 he entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as the Deputy Minister of Media going on to become a Cabinet Minister of the Provincial Council and Local Government. In 2001 he was appointed as Cabinet

as well as being appointed as president of the Sri Lankan Muslim Federation and Organizing Secretary and convener of the

Joint Council of Trade Union Organization A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

(JCTUO). Moulana was an advisor to former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

on Muslim Affairs. Moulana also served as

acting Governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an ...

for

in 2009. In 2012, during his 80th birthday ceremony Alavi Moulana was conferred the 'Jana Prasadini' title by President

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

. The President said "Moulana had been a tower of strength to him and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party for a long time" and wished him a long life in his service to the nation and the working community.

Accolades

Moulana has received many national and international awards for decades of service to trade unionism. He has received National awards by former President

for more than 45 years of service rendered for the Trade Union movement in Sri Lanka. He has also received several Vishvaprasadini and National and International awards as member of the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

. Moulana has represented Sri Lanka in several seminars of the Trade Union throughout the World, and in 2001 was appointed as the Chairman of the Asia Pacific Region of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO) for a period of three years, which was proposed by China and seconded by

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

References

External links

Secretariat of the Governor – Western Province
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moulana, Alavi 1932 births 2016 deaths Governors of Western Province, Sri Lanka Alumni of Zahira College, Colombo Alumni of St. Peter's College, Colombo Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians Sri Lankan trade unionists Governors of Sabaragamuwa Province Labour ministers of Sri Lanka