Moosajee Bhamjee
Moosajee Bhamjee | |
|---|---|
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office November 1992–June 1997 | |
| Constituency | Clare |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 December 1947 Pietermaritzburg,Natal,South Africa |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Labour Party |
| Spouse |
Claire Bhamjee (m.1975) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Royal College of Surgeons |
Moosajee Bhamjee(born 4 December 1947) is an Irish formerLabour Partypolitician who served as aTeachta Dála(TD) for theClareconstituency from 1992 to 1997.[1]Bhamjee was Ireland's firstMuslimTD.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Bhamjee was born inPietermaritzburg,South Africa, in 1947. His father emigrated fromIndiain 1906 and had set up a hardware shop there. His father died in 1964, so it was decided that one of the sons would take over the shop while another would go for further education. Bhamjee travelled toDublinin 1965, where he studied medicine at theRoyal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Bhamjee's two other brothers also travelled to Dublin around the same time to study medicine. After he received his degree, Bhamjee returned to South Africa, where he began working as a general practitioner. He returned to Ireland in 1975 and married a woman he first met when studying in Dublin. They moved toGalwayand later toCork,where he trained as a psychiatrist. In 1984, Bhamjee started a permanent post at Our Lady's Hospital inEnnis,County Clare,less than 20 miles from his wife's home-place ofCooraclare.
Political career and aftermath
[edit]Bhamjee joined the Labour Party in 1991 and was the party's candidate at the1992 general election.[3]Bhamjee became a TD forClare,traditionally aFianna Fáilstronghold. He was in fact the last candidate to become a member of the27th Dáil.Bhamjee, due to his Indian heritage, was immediately nicknamed "the Indian among the cowboys".[4]While the Labour Party formed a coalition government with Fianna Fáil, Bhamjee was abackbencher.He still worked as aconsultant psychiatristwhile he was a TD. He declined to stand again at the1997 general electionand retired from politics to continue his career in the health service.[citation needed]
In December 2011, Bhamjee called for the addition of the drugLithiumto the Irish drinking water supply. Bhamjee stated that "there is growing scientific evidence that adding trace amounts of the drug lithium to a water supply can lower rates of suicide and depression".[5]
References
[edit]- ^"Moosajee Bhamjee".Oireachtas Members Database.Retrieved20 November2011.
- ^"Country's first Muslim TD points to 'very poor' level of diversity in politics".Irish Examiner.23 August 2017.
- ^"Moosajee Bhamjee".ElectionsIreland.org.Retrieved20 November2011.
- ^"The newsmakers: Where are they now".The Irish Times.2 August 2010.
- ^"Should we put lithium in the water?".The Guardian.5 December 2011.