E. Ahamed (29 April 1938 – 1 February 2017), Edappakath Ahamed in full, was an Indian politician from Kannur (then Cannanore) in northern Kerala. A Member of Parliament ( Lok Sabha) between 1991 and 2017, he was a key figure in India's diplomatic relations with the Middle East. Educated at Brennen College, Tellicherry and Trivandrum Law College, Ahamed was first elecled to

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 28 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 c ...

in 1967 (from Kannur, with Indian Union Muslim League). He later served as a cabinet minister (Industry) in the U D F ministry headed by Congress-leader

K. Karunakaran Kannoth Karunakaran (5 July 1918 – 23 December 2010) was an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC). He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala four times during the late 1970s through the mid 1990s. He is the ...

(1982–87). He was first elected to the Parliament ( Lok Sabha) in 1991. Ahamed was appointed Union Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs, in 2004 ( Congress-led U P A ministry headed by

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

). He also served as Union Minister of State for Railways and Human Resource Development. Ahamed served as the National President, Indian Union Muslim League between 2008 and 2017. He was the first Indian Union Muslim League union minister in independent India. In 2004, he was famously dispatched by

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

to the United Nations ( Geneva) to represent India.

Early life

E. Ahamed was born on 29 April 1938 at Cannanore, Malabar District to Edappakath Nafeesa Beevi and Ovintakath Abdul Khader (in a merchant family). He carried his mother's 'house name' as his initials as the tradition among the Cannanore Mappilas. He graduated from

Government Brennen College Brennen College is an educational institution in Kerala, affiliated to the Kannur University. It is located in Dharmadam, Thalassery of Kerala state, India. The college evolved from a school established by the English philanthropist Edward Br ...

, Tellicherry and later obtained a law degree from Trivandrum Law College. He was the first General Secretary of the M. S. F., the students' wing of Indian Union Muslim League. He also worked as a reporter for the Chandrika newsapaper. Ahamed married Zuhara in 1961 (died in an accident in 1999). The couple has three children. Ahamed died on 1 February 2017 after suffering a cardiac arrest in a joint session of Parliament. He was buried with full state honours at the Kannur City Juma Masjid.

Political career

In Kerala

Kerala_Council_of_Ministers_1983_Karunakaran

* Ahamed served as Minister for Industry from May 1982 to March 1987 ( U D F ministry headed by Congress-leader

). * He was a member of the Kerala and Calicut University Senate. He was also Chairman, Kannur Municipal Council (1981–83). * He also served as the founder Chairman, Kerala State Rural Development Board (1971–77), and Chairman, Kerala Small Industries Development Corporation. * Ahamed was chosen as the General Secretary, Indian Union Muslim League in 1995.

Career in national politics

* From 2004 to 2009, Ahamed served as the Minister of State for External Affairs. From 2009 to 2011, he was the Minister of State for Railways. He assumed charge again as Minister of State for External Affairs in early 2011. Ahamed also held the additional charge of the Union Minister of State, Human Resource Development 2011 to 2012.

Other positions

President * Muslim Educational Foundation, Panur, Kannur * Kannur Deenul Islam Sabha, Kerala Member * Board of the Medical College, Pariyaram, Kerala * Managing Committee, MEA Engineering College, Malappuram * Executive Council,

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

* Central Haj Committee

Representing India

* Ahamed represented India in the United Nations several times between 1991 and 2014. * Special Emissary, Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

to the Gulf (1984). * Chairman, Crisis Management Group (Iraq hostage crisis, August–September, 2004).

Minister in different ministries

References

External links

Official website

E. Ahamed (profile) Lok Sabha

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahamed, E. 1938 births 2017 deaths India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2004–2009 Union ministers of state of India Malayali politicians India MPs 2009–2014 Indian Union Muslim League politicians Lok Sabha members from Kerala India MPs 2014–2019 People from Malappuram district Kerala MLAs 1980–1982 Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram alumni