21 Facts About Irfaan Ali

Irfaan Ali is the first Muslim to hold office, and is the second Muslim head of state in the Americas after Noor Hassanali of Trinidad and Tobago.

Irfaan Ali was sworn in as Guyana's tenth president on 2 August 2020, months after his win, due to extensive legal challenges regarding the integrity of the election and a recount of all electoral ballots.

Irfaan Ali was born into an Indo-Guyanese Muslim family to Bibi Shariman Neshaw and Mohamed Osman Irfaan Ali in Leonora, a village in the West Coast Demerara region of Guyana.

The child of two educators and one of two sons, Irfaan Ali spent many of his formative years on the island of Leguan.

Irfaan Ali is a former student of the Leonora Nursery and Primary schools and Cornelia Ida Primary.

Irfaan Ali completed his secondary education at St Stanislaus College in Georgetown, Guyana.

Irfaan Ali holds a doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the West Indies.

Irfaan Ali has a Master of Arts degree in manpower planning, a post-graduate diploma in international business, and a post-graduate certificate in finance from Anglia Ruskin University, a Master of Law degree in international commercial law from the University of Salford and a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in business management from the University of Sunderland.

Irfaan Ali served as project manager of the Caribbean Development Bank's Project Implementation Unit in the Ministry of Finance, and as a senior planner in the State Planning Secretariat.

Irfaan Ali became a member of the National Assembly of Guyana in 2006.

Irfaan Ali was appointed to the portfolios of minister of housing and water and minister of tourism industry and commerce.

Irfaan Ali was the presidential candidate of the People's Progressive Party for the 2 March 2020 general and regional elections in Guyana.

Irfaan Ali's selection came at a time after Ali had been charged with 19 counts of conspiracy and fraud by Guyana's Special Organized Crime Unit.

Irfaan Ali's lawyers questioned the legality of these charges, and claimed that they were political in nature and "trumped up".

At the time when Irfaan Ali was running for president, the charges had never been brought to a full court hearing.

Immediately following his selection, Irfaan Ali was accused of academic fraud, with opponents claiming that when Irfaan Ali was in his early 20s, he had misrepresented one of his qualifications.

Irfaan Ali was indicted on 19 charges of other fraud for allegedly defrauding the state of over $174M between 2011 and 2015, allegedly conspiring with persons unknown to "greatly undersell" 19 plots of state lands at Plantation Sparendaam and Goedverwagting in Demerara-Mahaica to current or former government officials.

Irfaan Ali committed to creating 50,000 new jobs over five years.

Irfaan Ali has emphasized the need for transparency and adherence to globally-recognised standards for Guyana's nascent oil sector, which is expected to transform Guyana's development.

Irfaan Ali is committed to establishing a sovereign wealth fund "protected against political interference", and to strengthen Guyana's ability to uphold the Santiago Principles and the global requirements of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

In September 2020, in a joint statement with the United States secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Irfaan Ali said the two countries would begin joint maritime patrols aimed at drug interdiction near Guyana's disputed border with crisis-stricken Venezuela.