Ali Sabry (Sri Lankan politician)
Mohamed Uvais Mohamed Ali Sabry, PC, MP (born 1 May 1970), also known as Ali Sabry, is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He is the Minister of Finance and Minister of Justice, as well as a Member of Parliament, appointed from the national list of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He previously served as the Minister of Justice from 2020 to 2022, but was reappointed on 26 April 2022. He served as the defense counsel of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, chief legal adviser and President of the Muslim Federation of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna . Beginning 4 April 2022, Sabry was appointed as the new Minister of Finance, replacing Basil Rajapaksa (brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa) in the position. Due to the worsening of the financial crisis, Sabry tendered his resignation 5 April 2022, having served only a day in office. However, Sabry revoked his resignation and is the current finance minster of Sri Lanka. Early life and education. Born in Kalutara to M.S.M Uvais and Zareena Uvais, Sabry was educated at Kalutara Muslim Central College and Zahira College, Colombo. He entered Sri Lanka Law College where he served as the General Secretary of the  Law Students’ Union and leader of the Sinhala Debating Team. Legal career. Having qualified as an attorney at law, Sabry joined the Unofficial Bar and developed a lucrative practice in original and appellate courts specializing in civil law. He served as Sri Lankan Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and represented Sri Lanka in many International conferences including the Human Rights Session in the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2012. He was the treasurer of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and Chairman of the Junior Bar Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. In 2012 he  was appointed a President's Counsel. He is well known for appearing in court cases for the then defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was accused of corruption allegations during the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa. He also favoured Gotabaya Rajapaksa when the latter had to deal with the issues regarding American citizenship prior to the runup to the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election and insisted that Gotabaya isn't an American citizen with evidence. Political career. He also campaigned for Gotabaya during the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election and urged the minority Muslim community to vote for him to form a  stable government following the pressure on the community aftermath the 2019 Easter attacks. He entered the mainstream politics in 2020 and became a member of SLPP. In July 2020, he was appointed as the national leader of the SLPP party's Muslim Federation by the President. He did not contest at the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election but was named by SLPP as a national list candidate to enter the parliament. On 12 August 2020, he was appointed as the Justice minister by the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his cabinet during the swearing-in ceremony and was the only Muslim  person in the 25 member cabinet of ministers for the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was the first President's Counsel to serve as Minister of Justice after M. W. H. de Silva, QC. On 4 April 2022, he was part of the temporary four member cabinet which was formed following the resignation of 26 cabinet ministers from their ministerial portfolios in wake of the economic crisis and protests. He was also one of the 26 ministers to resign but was given a new ministry by the President soon afterwards so he was part of the temporary cabinet. The  following day, as of 5 April 2022 (within 24 hours) he quit the temporary cabinet by resigning from the finance ministry which was handed over to him in new temporary cabinet. But, later on 8 April, he informed the House that he would continue as the Finance Minister because the President did not accept his resignation. Racist attacks. His appointment as a Justice minister was controversial. He also faced criticisms and backlash for his remarks on the government's decision and Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine's decision for prohibition of burials and a proper cremation process of  the Muslims who died due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka.