The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is a country and an archipelagic state in South Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.
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 Indian Ocean; and the modern nation consisting of 26 natural atolls, comprising 1194 islands. Historically, the Maldives had a strategic importance because of its location on the major marine routes of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives' nearest neighbours 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 main source of cowrie shells, then used as a currency throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast. Most probably Maldives were influenced by Kalingas of ancient India who were earliest sea traders to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from India 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 Malé in 1966. This office has since been replaced by the embassy of the People's Republic of China.
The politics of the Maldives, as per the reports, 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. Nasheed reportedly resigned involuntarily to forestall an escalation of violence, and was placed in jail, before being forced into exile, from which he eventually returned.
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.
The Maldivian Democratic Party is the first political party formed in the Republic of Maldives with a total membership of 57,660 individuals as of 11 February 2023. As of 2023 the party is the current governing party in the Maldives, after having secured safe majorities in both the presidency and parliament in 2018 and 2019. 2019 was the first time one party was able to secure a majority in parliament without forming a coalition.
Mohamed Nasheed GCSK, 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.
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.
Haveeru Daily was the longest serving daily newspaper in the Maldives, established on January 1, 1979.
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 9.63 billion MVR
Dato' Mohamed Zaki, also known as Nazaki Zaki or Sandhaanu Zaki, is a businessman and politician in the Maldives.
The 2007 Malé bombing was a bomb blast on September 29, 2007, in Sultan Park near the Islamic Centre in the Maldivian capital Malé, injuring 12 foreign tourists. The park is located in the shadow Maldivian Army (MNDF) Headquarters where several surveillance cameras are trained. It was the first known bombing to take place in the Maldives.
Ameen Faisal is the former National Security Advisor and former Minister of Defence and National Security of the Republic of Maldives.
Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim is a Maldivian politician. He was an official in the Ministry of Atolls Development from 1990 to 2004, then a member of the Special Majilis (parliament) representing A.DH Atoll from 2004 to 2008. Between 2008 and 2013 he was Deputy Minister or Minister of State for Immigration and Emigration, Housing and Environment, and then Defense and National Security.
Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed is a Maldivian diplomat, and was the Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). She was the first woman to hold this post since the organization's inception in 1985. She was appointed Secretary-General at the Thirty-third Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers in February 2011, and assumed office in Kathmandu on 1 March 2011. She succeeded India's Sheel Kant Sharma, whose term ended in February.
The Cabinet of the Maldives is the most senior level of the executive branch of the Government of the Maldives. It is made up of the President, the Vice President, Attorney General and the Ministers.
The Progressive Party of Maldives, also known by its abbreviationPPM, is an Islamist political party in the Maldives with a total membership of 38,704 as of 21 February 2023. The stated goal of the party is driving Maldives towards an independent and democratic, safe and secure, high income, high human capital, developed nation state with a diversified and robust economy whilst preserving its Islamic heritage.
The 2011–2013 Maldives political crisis began as a series of peaceful protests that broke out in the Maldives on 1 May 2011. They would continue, eventually escalating into the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed in disputed circumstances in February 2012. Demonstrators were protesting what they considered the government's mismanagement of the economy and were calling for the ouster of President Nasheed. The main political opposition party in the country, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party led by the former president of the country Maumoon Abdul Gayoom accused President Nasheed of "talking about democracy but not putting it into practice." The protests occurred during the Arab Spring.
Husnu Al Suood born in Meedhoo is a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Maldives since 8 December 2019. He was the Attorney General of the Maldives from June 2009 to August 2010. He served as the Chief Judge of the Civil Court and as a member of the Judicial Service Commission of Maldives. He also served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission of the Maldives from 2003 to 2005. As a member of the Special Majlis Suood participated in drafting the current constitution of the Republic of Maldives.
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.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, commonly known as Ibu, is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023.
