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 held a strategic importance due to 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 This office has since been replaced by the embassy of the People's Republic of China.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 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 who served as President of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as transport minister, he was nominated president by the People's Majlis and succeeded Ibrahim Nasir in 1978. He was defeated in 2008 during the first Presidential Elections after democratic reforms in the Maldives. He holds the nations highest award, "The Most Honourable Order of Distinguished Rule of Ghaazee", presented to him in 2013. Maumoon was 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 51,516 individuals as of 25 April 2024.
The Constitution of the Maldives is the supreme law of the country of Maldives. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Republic of Maldives, sets out the rights and duties of the citizens of the Maldives, and defines the structure of the Government of the Maldives. The current Constitution of the Maldives was ratified by the then president, Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, on 7 August 2008, and came into effect immediately, replacing and repealing the Constitution of 1998.
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.
The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party was a political party of the Maldives. On 2 June 2005, the nation's 50-member parliament voted unanimously to allow and operate political parties in Maldives. DRP subsequently submitted its registration on 21 July 2005 and was the second registered political party in the Republic of Maldives.
Dr. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Abdulla Shahid is a Maldivian politician who served as President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly between 2021 and 2022 and the President of the Maldivian Democratic Party. Shahid is the first Maldivian politician to hold that post. He had served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maldives from 2018 to 2023.
Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018.
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, commonly known as Ibu, is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023.
Faisal Naseem is a Maldivian politician who served as vice president of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023. He was elected to office as the running mate of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the 2018 presidential election. Prior to his election, Naseem served for many years in the social sector, particularly in tourism.
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.
The following lists events that happened during 2023 in the Maldives.
Dr Mohamed Muizzu is a Maldivian politician who is the 8th and current president of the Maldives since 2023. He previously served as Housing Minister and was the Mayor of Malé from 2021 until his resignation in 2023.
