The history of the Maldives is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions,comprising the areas of South Asia and the Indian Ocean. The modern nation is formed of 26 natural atolls,comprising 1194 islands. Historically,the Maldives has held strategic importance due to its location on the major marine routes of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives's nearest neighbors are the British Indian Ocean Territory,Sri Lanka and India. The United Kingdom,Sri Lanka,and some Indian kingdoms have had cultural and economic ties with the Maldives for centuries. In addition to these countries,Maldivians also traded with Aceh and many other kingdoms in what is today Indonesia and Malaysia. The Maldives provided the primary source of cowrie shells,which were then used as currency throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast. Most likely,the Maldives were influenced by the Kalingas of ancient India. The Kalingas were the earliest region of India to trade with Sri Lanka and the Maldives and were responsible for the spread of Buddhism. Stashes of Chinese crockery found buried in various locations in the Maldives also show that there was direct or indirect trade contact between China and the Maldives. In 1411 and 1430,the Chinese admiral Zheng He (鄭和) visited the Maldives. The Chinese also became the first country to establish a diplomatic office in the Maldives when the Chinese nationalist government based in Taipei opened an embassy in Maléin 1966. The Embassy of the People's Republic of China has since replaced this office.
The politics of the Maldives take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic,whereby the President is the Head of Government. Executive power is exercised by the government. The President heads the executive branch and appoints the Cabinet;like many presidential democracies,each member of the cabinet need to be approved by the Parliament. The President,along with their pick for vice president,is directly elected by the denizens to a five-year term by a secret ballot. Once in office,they could be re-elected to a second 5-year term,which is the limit allowed by the Constitution. The current President of the Maldives is Mohamed Muizzu,when his predecessor,Ibrahim Mohamed Solih lost the 2023 Maldivian presidential election.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician,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. The longest-serving Maldivian president,Gayoom was the longest-serving leader in Asia.
The Maldivian Democratic Party is the first political party formed in the Republic of Maldives with a total membership of 50,980 individuals as of July 28,2024.
Mohamed NasheedGCSK,also known as Anni,is a Maldivian politician and activist who served as president of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Party,he subsequently served as the 19th speaker of the People's Majlis from May 2019 until his resignation in November 2023. He is the first democratically elected president of the Maldives and the only president to resign from office. He is currently a member of The Democrats.
The 2005 Maldivian civil unrest refers to the civil unrest that broke out in Malé,Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll and Addu Atoll of the Maldives on August 12,2005,which led to events that supported the democratic reform of the country. This unrest was provoked by the arrest of Mohamed Nasheed - an open critic of the president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom - and the subsequent demolition of the Dhunfini tent,used by the members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for their gatherings. Supporters of MDP were quick to demonstrate. They started calling for the resignation of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom,soon after Nasheed's arrest. Several arrests were made on the first night followed by the demolition of the Dhunfini tent. The demolition complicated the situation further provoking the unrest. The unrest grew violent on the third night,on August 14,2005,due to the methods used in the attempts by the authority to stop the demonstration.
The president of the Republic of Maldives is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Maldives and the commander-in-chief of the Maldives National Defence Force.
Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 7 February 2012 to 17 November 2013,having succeeded to the office following the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed,under whom he served as Vice President. He had previously worked as a news anchor,a teacher,a principle,a United Nations international civil servant with UNICEF,UNDP and UNESCO,and as member of the Maldivian Parliament.
Qasim Ibrahim,also known as Burumaa 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 a net worth of around MVR 18 billion.
Ameen Faisal is the former National Security Advisor and former Minister of Defence and National Security of the Republic of Maldives.
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.
Mariya Didi is a Maldivian barrister and politician who served as the Minister of Defense of the Maldives. After being the campaign manager for president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during the 2018 elections,she was appointed the nation's first-ever female Minister of Defence.
Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on Sunday,23 September 2018. Incumbent president Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) was seeking re-election for a second five-year term. His only challenger was Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP),who was nominated as the joint candidate of a coalition of opposition parties.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih,Frequently referred to as Ibu,is a Maldivian politician who served as the 7th President of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023. Solih was a Parliamentarian for 15 years,He Represented the Hinnavaru constituency and the Lhaviyani Constituency during his tenure. He played a significant role in the democratic reforms of the Maldives and led the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to victory in the 2018 presidential election. Solih was elected president on 23 September 2018 after winning the 2018 presidential election as the candidate for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). His presidency focused on democratic governance,environmental sustainability,and strengthening international relations.
Climate change is a major issue for the Maldives. As an archipelago of low-lying islands and atolls in the Indian Ocean,the existence of the Maldives is severely threatened by sea level rise. By 2050,80% of the country could become uninhabitable due to global warming. According to the World Bank,with "future sea levels projected to increase in the range of 10 to 100 centimeters by the year 2100,the entire country could be submerged". The Maldives is striving to adapt to climate change,and Maldivian authorities have been prominent in international political advocacy to implement climate change mitigation.
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. She is The Daughter Of Sheikh Hussain Yoosuf And The Sister Of Hisaan Hussain
Farahanaz Faizal is a Maldivian diplomat who served as the Maldivian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. She served from 2009 until 2012 under President Mohamed Nasheed and was reappointed on April 18,2019 by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Faizal was also the non-resident ambassador of France,Ireland and Spain.
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.
Germany–Maldives relations have existed since the 1960s and both countries cooperate closely on climate policy. The Maldives has an embassy in Berlin. Germany does not have a resident ambassador.
The following lists events that happened during 2023 in the Maldives.
