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. 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 Malé in 1966. The Embassy of the People's Republic of China has since replaced this office.
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.
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.
Majeediyya School is the first Maldivian government school, located in Malé, Maldives. It only accepted boys until the introduction of Primary Education in 2010, which allowed girls to attend the school as well. The English medium is followed throughout all subjects, with the exception of Dhivehi and Islam.
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.
The vice president of the Republic of Maldives is the second-highest official in the executive branch of the government of the Maldives, after the president of the Maldives, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is directly elected together with the president to a five-year term of office.
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, is a political party in the Maldives with a total membership of 35,044 as of 25 April 2024. 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.
Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on 7, 9 and 16 November 2013. The first round was held on 7 September. As no candidate received a majority, a second round was planned to be held in 28 September between the candidates who received the most votes in the first round, former President Mohamed Nasheed and Abdulla Yameen, paternal half-brother of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Incumbent President Mohammed Waheed Hassan was eliminated in the first round after receiving less votes than three other candidates.
Al Amir Mohammed Waheed Deen is a Maldivian politician who served vice president of the Maldives from 25 April 2012 to 10 November 2013. He was appointed to the position by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan on 15 February 2012, following the disputed resignation of the previous president, Mohamed Nasheed. He is also the Chairman of Bandos Maldives.
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.
Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, commonly known as Ibu, is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023.
Abdul Sattar Moosa Didi, was a Maldivian diplomat and politician. He was born in 1936. He died in November 2015 in Bangkok.
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 Malé mayor 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 Ghassan Maumoon is a Maldivian politician and incumbent Minister of Defence of the Maldives. He has held many ministerial positions in past administrations of the government. He is member of Parliament from Guraidhoo constituency. He is serving as Vice President of the Progressive Party of Maldives.
Maldivian presidential assassination attempts have been numerous, ranging from the early twentieth century since the establishment of the first republic of the Maldives. In 1980, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was first Maldivian president to experience an assassination attempt, when three attempts were made to overthrow Maumoon's government and assassinate the president.
