The Maldives has remained an independent nation throughout its recorded history, save for a brief spell of Portuguese occupation in the mid-16th century. From 1887 to 1965, the country was a British protectorate while retaining full internal sovereignty. At its independence in 1965, the Maldives joined the United Nations on 20 September.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician who served as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Transport, he was nominated as President by the Majlis (Parliament) of the Maldives and succeeded Ibrahim Nasir in 1978. He was defeated in the October 2008 presidential election. In opposition, he continued to serve as leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party until January 2010, when he retired from active politics.
Mohamed Nasheed GCSK is a Maldivian politician and activist currently serving as the 19th speaker of the People's Majlis since May 2019. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Party, he served as President of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. He is the first democratically elected president of the Maldives and the only president to resign from office.
Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party is a Maldivian MP, philanthropist and a businessman. Thasmeen started his career as a civil servant and after venturing into politics he was elected to Peoples Majlis from Baa Atoll and later he served in Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's cabinet and was his running mate in the first multiparty election held in the Maldives in 2008.
Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik is a Maldivian politician who served as the fifth President of Maldives from 7 February 2012 to 17 November 2013, having succeeded to office following the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed, under whom Waheed had served as Vice President. He had previously worked as a news anchor, a United Nations official with UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO, and a member of the Maldivian Parliament.
Qasim Ibrahim, also known as Buruma Qasim is a Maldivian politician, business magnate and philanthropist. As the chairman and founder of the Villa Group, he is one of the country's wealthiest businessmen, with MVR 1 billion.
Ahmed Shaheed is a Maldivian diplomat, politician and professor. On 24 March 2016, he was appointed for the sixth year running as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Shaheed is also the Chairperson of the Geneva-based international human rights think-tank, Universal Rights Group, which was launched in January 2014. He now lives in England, as Visiting Professor of Human Rights Practice at the University of Essex.
Dhadimagu is an administrative division of Fuvahmulah, Maldives. It is the largest division of the island, located in the northern part of the island. Throughout history, many scholars and famous public figures came into being from this district housing many of the historical sites and landmarks of the island. A center of learning as well as an important location for the island's economy, the number of 'Hafiz's and teachers from this district outnumber that of any other district in Fuvahmulah, and this district is considered by many to be the most educated and learning-centered district of Fuvahmulah.
Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on 8 and 23 October 2008, the first democratic elections in the country. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held on 28 October between the two candidates among the contestants who received the most votes, incumbent president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed, who received the second most votes after Gayoom in the first round. Nasheed was elected to the office after winning a majority in the runoff, unseating incumbent president Gayoom who held the office for six terms, lasting three decades.
Mohamed Shihab is a Maldivian politician. He was the Speaker of Majlis of the Maldives — the legislature of Maldives and a member of the Jumhoory Party. He is a former senior member of Maldivian Democratic Party. He became the Speaker of Majlis on 12 August 2008, succeeding former Speaker Ahmed Zahir, and he served as the speaker until 28 May 2009.
The High Commission of Jamaica in London is the diplomatic mission of Jamaica in the United Kingdom.
Visam Ali is a former High Commissioner of the Maldives to Malaysia. She was a Maldivian Member of Parliament representing Raa Atoll, Maduvvaree legislative district for the 18th sitting of Majlis of the Maldives.
The Immigration Department of Malaysia is a department of the Malaysian federal government that provides services to Malaysian citizens, permanent residents and foreign visitors. The department is responsible for issuing passports, travel documents, visas, passes and permits; administering and managing the movement of people at authorised entry and exit points; and enforcing immigration legislation including the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Passport Act 1966. The department is a section of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Dhuvaafaru is an inhabited island of Maldives located in the eastern edge of Raa Atoll. Resettlement of the island started on 14 December 2008 to inhabit the displaced residents of Kandholhudhoo who were the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Fazeel Najeeb is former governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (2008-2013) where he is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors. A native of Fuvahmulah, Fazeel is also the Governor of Maldives to the International Monetary Fund, and the current Chairman of SAARC Finance, a network of Central Banks in South Asia. He began his public service in 1987 at the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He also had his own consulting firm, before taking up his doctoral studies in London. He assumed office at Maldives Monetary Authority in 2008.
Malaysia–Maldives relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between Malaysia and the Maldives. Malaysia's High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka is also accredited to the Maldives, and Maldives has a High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
Alhan Fahmy was a Parliament member of the 17th People's Majlis sitting of Maldives representing the Addu Atoll Feydhoo Constituency representing the then, opposition party Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party under the leadership of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.
Dnyaneshwar Mulay – ज्ञानेश्वर मुळे, an Indian Career Diplomat who superannuated after 35 years of service, was appointed by the President of India as the Member, National Human Rights Commission in April 2019. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1983 and has since served in several capacities, including the Consul General of India, New York, and the High Commissioner of India, Male, Maldives. He is a successful writer and has written over 15 books, which have been translated in Arabic, Dhivehi, Urdu, Kannada and Hindi. His magnum-opus – Maati, Pankh ani Akash, written in Marathi, has received immense popularity and has also been prescribed in the Arts curriculum at the North Maharasthra University, Jalgaon (Maharashtra). He has inspired a number of socio-educational projects including Balodyan, an orphanage in his native village, and the Dnyaneshwar Mulay Education Society, which seeks to introduce innovative concepts like Global Education.
His Excellency Dauda Danladi, MNI is the former Nigerian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (2012-2015) and was the authority in charge of the Nigerian Embassy in Islamabad, ICT.
Rizwan Ahmed is a former Federal Secretary and grade 22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service who is currently serving as Member Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) since December 2022. He did his two-year Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University and joined the civil service in 1988. He was promoted to the country's highest civil service rank of grade 22 in 2017.
