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 1900 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 statesman,diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Transport from 1977 to 1978,and as the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations from 1976 to 1977. After serving six presidential terms,Gayoom became the longest serving president in Asia.
Michele Jeanne Sison is an American diplomat and career member of the Senior Foreign Service serving as the assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs. She has previously served in various other diplomatic posts around the world on behalf of the United States,including ambassador to Haiti. Sison holds the personal rank of career ambassador.
Shivshankar Menon is an Indian diplomat,who served as National Security Adviser of India under Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. He had previously served as the Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Prior to that he was Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan,and Sri Lanka and ambassador to China and Israel. He is currently Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress. He is also Visiting Professor of International Relations at Ashoka University.
The United States has had friendly relations with the Republic of Maldives since the nation's independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,better known as S. Jaishankar,is an Indian diplomat,politician and author,who is serving the thirtieth Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India since 31 May 2019. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 5 July 2019. He previously served as the Foreign Secretary from January 2015 to January 2018.
Diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Maldives were established in 1972. China has an embassy in Maléwhich opened in November 2011,and the Maldives has an embassy in Beijing which opened in 2009. Approximately 70 percent of the Maldives' total debt is attributed to Chinese projects,with an annual payment of US$92 million to China,constituting around 10 percent of the country's entire budget. China has become pervasive in the Maldives,exerting influence over infrastructure,trade,and energy sectors,raising concerns of a new form of Chinese entrapment.
Hala Hameed is a Maldivian politician and diplomat who has been Secretary,Multilateral at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since August 2020.
Ali Naseer Mohamed is a Maldivian diplomat who is currently serving as the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations and was previously the Ambassador of the Maldives to the United States and Canada from July 2017 to May 2019.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih,commonly known as Ibu,is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023.
Thilmeeza Hussain is a Maldivian civil servant and diplomat who served as the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations and the Maldivian High Commissioner of Maldives to Canada.
Ahmed Shiaan is a Maldivian diplomat who served as the State Secretary,Chief of Protocol and State Minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives. He was appointed when the Solih administration took office on 26 March 2018. Shiaan served as the Maldives Ambassador the European Union (EU),Netherlands,United Kingdom (UK),Belgium,and Luxembourg before his appointment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is a fluent speaker of Dhivehi,English,German and Hindi.
Hugo Yue-Ho Yon is an American diplomat serving as the U.S. ambassador to the Maldives since September 2023.
Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on Saturday,9 September 2023,with a second round held on 30 September. Incumbent president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was seeking re-election,after defeating the-then Speaker of the People's Majlis Mohamed Nasheed in the Maldivian Democratic Party primaries. People's National Congress candidate and Malémayor Mohamed Muizzu won the election with 54% of the votes,defeating Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and becoming President-elect of the Maldives. It was the fourth consecutive election in which a Maldivian president failed to win reelection,the last to do so having been Maumoon Abdul Gayoom,who ran unopposed,in 2003.
Mohamed Khaleel is a Maldivian diplomat.
The Embassy of the Maldives in the People's Republic of China is an embassy established by the Maldives in Beijing,the capital of the People's Republic of China.
The Embassy of the Maldives,Berlin is an embassy established by the Maldives in Berlin,the capital of Germany.
