President of Maldives

Mohamed Nasheed, President of Maldives

Mohamed Nasheed, President of Maldives

Mohamed Nasheed is the first democratically elected President in the history of the Maldives.

He was elected president on 28 October 2008, defeating incumbent President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives from 1978-2008.

Nasheed was born in Male’, Republic of Maldives, on 17 May 1967. He attended Majeediyya School, Male’ between 1971-1981.

In 1981, he attended the Overseas School, Colombo before moving to The Dauntsey’s School in England to complete his ‘A’ levels, between 1982-1984.

Nasheed remained in the UK for his higher education, graduating from Liverpool University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Maritime Studies.

Nasheed’s early political career was dominated by his non-violent struggle for democracy in the Maldives.

In 1990, Nasheed helped establish Sangu a political magazine that scrutinized the ruling political class. The government banned Sangu within a year of its first publication, however, and Nasheed was arrested and jailed for the first of many times.

In 1991, Amnesty International declared Nasheed a ‘prisoner of conscience’.

In 1999, Nasheed was elected MP for Male’ but was stripped of his seat soon afterwards and jailed once again. He spent 18 months in jail, including long periods in solitary confinement.

On 20 September 2003, the Maldives was rocked by political unrest when hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Male’ after hearing of the murder of prisoner Evan Naseem, who was tortured to death by Maafushi Jail guards.

Sensing an underlying current for change, Nasheed fled the Maldives and, on 10 November 2004, co-founded the country’s first opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party, in exile in Sri Lanka.

In 2004, Nasheed was granted refugee status by the British government and granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

After spending 18 months in self-imposed exile, Nasheed returned to the Maldives on 30 April 2005 to establish the MDP in the Maldives, defying a government edict banning political parties.

The government overturned its ban on political parties on 2 June 2005. Nasheed was elected Chairperson of the MDP on 20 December 2005.

Between 2005-2008, Nasheed initiated a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience in the Maldives, to pressure the government to speed up the implementation of democratic reforms. He was arrested in August 2005 during a non-violent protest and charged for ‘terrorism’ but the government later dropped the charges against him.

Nasheed won the MDP primaries to become the MDP’s Presidential Candidate in April 2008.

Arrested, imprisoned and tortured in the Maldives on numerous occasions for his political activities, Nasheed is widely credited for playing an instrumental part in bringing freedom and democracy to the Maldives.

President Nasheed won the 2009 Anna Lindh Prize, in recognition of his work promoting human rights, democracy and environmental protection.

In September 2009, Time Magazine declared President Nasheed a ‘Hero of the Environment’.

Source: http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv

ADDRESS:

The President’s Office
Boduthakurufaanu Magu
Male’
Republic of Maldives

Phone: (+960) 332-3701
FAX: (+960) 332-5500
Email: info@presidencymaldives.gov.mv

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Former President of Maldives

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Former President of Maldives

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is, in both origin and style, very much a man of the people. A man of progressive thinking, President Gayoom’s governance has ushered in a hitherto unknown period of social and economic success for the nation. Since his assumption of office, the Maldives has made important strides towards greater democracy in a manner which has preserved and enhanced the country’s spiritual and cultural heritage. Through executive excellence and political foresight, President Gayoom has kept up the pace of change needed for a modern society by introducing and strengthening measures that ensured transparency and accountability in the government bureaucracy. The outstanding success attained in President Gayoom’s political life has been the historic milestone achieved in the recent political reform process he initiated – the introduction of a multi-party political system in the Maldives. As a man of the people, he continues to work to uplift the quality of life of the people, advocating good governance, and opening up new horizons for national development.

Born in Male’ in 1937 to a middle-class family, he quickly demonstrated a sound academic potential and, following early schooling in the capital, went first to Al-Azhar University in Cairo and later to the city’s American University; he obtained an M.A. in Islamic Studies at the former, where he also studied law and philosophy – academic disciplines in which he continued to have a keen interest. Indeed, President Gayoom, the politician and national leader, is every bit as much an intellectual as he is an able practitioner in government.

His Degree in Islamic Studies earned him an academic appointment as a Lecturer in that discipline to Nigeria’s Abdullahi Bayero College, a faculty of Ahmadu Bello University, a post he held from 1969 to 1971.

However he returned home to the Maldives soon and began his career of service to the Republic. His first important government appointment was that of Manager of the Republic’s Shipping Department, which quickly led to his becoming Director of the Telephone Department. By 1974 he had well established his reputation as an able administrator and, consequently, was appointed Special Under-Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. His first overseas appointment was to the diplomatic pos of Deputy Ambassador to neighbouring Sri Lanka. This was followed in two years by his appointment as the Maldives’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

At his recall to Male’ in 1977, he was appointed Minister of Transport, and then in November 1978 was nominated as Presidential Candidate by the Citizens’ Majlis, winning a record 92.9% of the popular vote in the referendum which confirmed him as the undoubted choice of the people.

He assumed office on 11 November of the same year and on completion of his first 5-year term as president, was re-elected on 30 September 1983 for a second term of office polling a record 95.6% of the popular vote. On 23 September 1988, he was re-elected for a third term of Presidency by the overwhelming majority of 96.4% of the popular vote. On 1 October 1993, he was elected for a fourth term of office winning 92.76% of the popular vote. On 16 October 1998, President Gayoom was elected for an unprecedented fifth term of office with a clear majority of 90.9% of the popular vote. Again, on 17 October 2003, President Gayoom was re-elected for a record sixth term of office with an overwhelming majority of 90.28% of the popular vote.

He is both a man of the people and a family man. Madam Nasreena Gayoom takes a keen personal interest in the public life of her husband and appears with him on many public occasions. They have four children, two girls, Dunya and Yumna, and two boys, Faris and Ghassan.

President Gayoom is a member of the Constituent Council of Rabitat Al-Alam Al-Islami (Muslim World League). He was awarded Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) by the Alighar Muslim University of India in 1983, Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) by the Jamia Millia Islamia of India in 1990 and Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) by the Pondicherry University of India in 1994. He was also awarded the Global 500 Honour Roll by the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988, the International Environment Award by DRV (Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association of Germany) in 1998, and the Man of the Sea Award for 1990 by Lega Navale Italiana in 1991. In addition, he was awarded the Grand Order of Mugunghawa (the highest order of the Republic of Korea) in 1984, Knight Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG) (the highest order accorded to Foreign Dignitaries by the British Monarchy) in 1997, the World Health Organisation Health-for-All Gold Medal in 1998 and the Shield of Al-Azhar University of Cairo in 2002.

His leisure interests include reading, poetry, astronomy, photography, calligraphy, badminton and cricket.