The President of the Maldives is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of the Maldives.[1] The president is directly elected by the citizens of the country through a popular vote for a five–year term.[2] He is the commander-in-chief of the Maldives National Defence Force and leads the cabinet of the country.[3][4] The First republic of the Maldives was declared on 1 January 1953, after eight–months, the republic was abolished on 21 August 1953, when people of Fura Malé beaten nearly to death.[5] Later when he died of the injury's, then Vice president of the Maldives, Ibrahim Muhammad Didi succeeded him as acting president.[5] Since the declaration of the second republic in 1968, there have been seven presidents.[6]
Since 1968, two presidents Ibrahim Nasir and Mohamed Nasheed have resigned from post. When president Nasir resigned in 1978, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was elected as president on 28 July 1978. In 2012, president Mohamed Nasheed resigned as president following a crisis.[7] Presidents, Mohamed Amin Didi and Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik served the shortest, Amin from 1 January 1953 to 21 August 1953 and Waheed following the resignation of Nasheed on 7 February 2012 until the inauguration of Abdulla Yameen on 17 November 2013. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom served as president for thirty years, spanning from 1978 to 2008, making him one of the longest serving president in Asia.[8]
The incumbent president is Mohamed Muizzu, who assumed office on 17 November 2023. He was preceded by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih who served as president from 2018 to 2023.[9]
- ^ "Government of the Maldives: Branches, History, The President". Facts and Details. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "The battle of the systems: Parliamentary vs Presidential". Maldives Financial Review. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
The presidential system is a form of government in which the president is the chief executive and is elected directly by the people. In this system all three branches – the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary are constitutionally independent of each other, and no branch can dismiss or dissolve another. The President is responsible for enforcing laws, the legislature for making them, and the courts for judging.
- ^ "President launches the MNDF Air Corps and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) into service". The President's Office. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "The Cabinet". The President's Office. 17 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Hakeem - Yesterday Chapter 8 - Truth is Bitter - Ibrahim Didi did not give Ameen Didi to the mob". Maldivesculture.com. 1997. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011.
- ^ "Former Presidents". The President's Office.
- ^ "Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed resigns amid unrest". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ^ "Boy scout saves Gayoom from assassination". The Daily Star. Agence France-Presse. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
Officials said a 20-year-old unemployed man tried to plunge a knife into Gayoom's stomach, but that Asia's longest serving president was unhurt thanks to a boy scout who wrestled with the attacker before he was detained. "The president was greeting people when a young boy pulled out a knife and tried to stab him in the stomach," Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed said by telephone from the island capital of Male.
- ^ "Dr. Mohamed Muizzu sworn in as President of the Maldives". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.