Mohamed Ehuttar Hadjiar Maharoof ( ta, முகம்மது எகுத்தார் ஹாஜியார் மகரூப்; 5 January 1939 – 20 July 1997) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n politician and Member of Parliament.

Early life and family

Maharoof was born on 5 January 1939. His father was chairman of Kinniya Village Council and his brother was M. E. H. Mohamed Ali. He was educated at Zahira College, Matale,

Trincomalee Hindu College Ramakrishna Mission Sri Koneswara Hindu College (also known as Trincomalee Hindu College or Trinco Hindu College) is a national school in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. History The school was founded in 1897 by leading Hindus. It was administered by ...

St. Anthony's College, Kandy St. Anthony's College, Kandy is a Catholic School, Roman Catholic School in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The college was established in 1854 by the Franciscan missionary, Felice Zoppi. The college is under the management of the Sylvestrines, Syl ...

and Pembroke Academy, Colombo. Maharoof's son Imran is a provincial councillor and Member of Parliament.

Career

Maharoof gave up his studies and entered politics in 1965 following the unexpected death of his father. He was chairman of Kinniya Town Council from 1966 to 1971. Maharoof stood as the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

(UNP) candidate in

Mutur Mutur or Muttur is a town in the Trincomalee District of Sri Lanka, located about 25 km south of Trincomalee, on the southern side of Trincomalee Harbour. In Tamil it translates to 'ancient village'. Mutur is mostly accessed by sea route. A ...

at the 1977 parliamentary election. He won the election and 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 ...

. He was appointed District Minister for Mannar in 1978. Maharoof contested the 1989 parliamentary election as one of the UNP's candidates in

Trincomalee District Trincomalee District ( ta, திருக்கோணமலை மாவட்டம் ''Tirukōṇamalai Māvaṭṭam;'' si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''Trikuṇāmalaya distrikkaya'') is one ...

. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. He was appointed Minister of State for Ports and Shipping in 1990. He was re-elected at the 1994 parliamentary election. Maharoof had good relationship with

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

and had opposed the establishment of the

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress ( ta, சிறீலங்கா முஸ்லீம் காங்கிரஸ், translit=Srīlaṅkā Muslīm Kāṅkiras; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා මුස්ලිම් කොංග්‍රස� ...

and a South Eastern Provincial Council for the Muslims. On the morning of 20 July 1997 Maharoof was travelling to Irakakkandy along the Kuchchaveli Road when his jeep was ambushed by gunmen at the 6th Mile Post between

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

and

Nilaveli Nilaveli ( ta, நிலாவெளி, translit=Nilāveḷi; si, නිල්වැල්ල, translit=Nilvælla) is a coastal resort town and suburb of the Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka located 16 km northwest of the city of Trincomalee ...

. Maharoof and five others (the driver, a bodyguard, a colleague, a school principal and the driver's four-year-old son) were killed. The militant

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

was widely blamed for the assassination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharoof, M. E. H. 1939 births 1997 deaths Alumni of R. K. M. Sri Koneswara Hindu College Alumni of St. Anthony's College, Kandy Alumni of Zahira College, Matale Assassinated Sri Lankan politicians District ministers of Sri Lanka Local authority councillors of Sri Lanka Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Ministers of state of Sri Lanka People from Eastern Province, Sri Lanka People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Moor politicians Sri Lankan Muslims Sri Lankan terrorism victims Terrorism deaths in Sri Lanka United National Party politicians