President Mohamed Nasheed was elected as President of the Maldives on October 28, 2008.  He was the first President to be elected democratically in the history of the Maldives.

President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives

Previous Maldives President

The previous President of the Maldives was President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was in power as the President of the Maldives between 1978-2008.

Maldives President Bio

Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed was born in Male, the capital of the Maldives, on May 17, 1967.

Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed Education

1971-1981: Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed attended  the Majeediyya School.

1981-1982: Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed attended the Overseas School, Colombo, Sri Lanka

1982-1984: Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed attended the Dauntsey’s School in England, where he completed his A Levels.

1985-1989:  Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed attended Liverpool University in the UK, where he graduated with a BA in Maritime Studies.

Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed’s Political Career

Mohammed Nasheed began his political career fighting peacefully for demmocracy in the Maldives. He was among the founding members of a magazine called Sangu, whose aim was to scrutinize the ruling political class.  The magazine was banned in its first year of publication, and Mohammed Nasheed was jailed for being involved with its creation.  Mohammed Nasheed’s political career began in earnest in 1999, when he was elected member of parliament for Male, but he was soon stripped of his seat and jailed for 18 months.

In 2003, political chaos hit the islands of the Maldives after a prisoner was tortured to death.  Mohammed Nasheed fled the country, believing he could achieve more from afar than from his home in the Maldives.  He went to Sri Lanka, where he created the Maldivian Democratic Party, the first ever opposition party to exist in Maldivian history.  He was later granted refugee status by the UK Government and went to the UK.

Maldives President Establishes Democratic Party

Despite a ban in the Maldives on establishing political parties, Mohammed Nasheed returned to the Maldives in 2005 where he established the Maldivian Democratic Party.  The political party ban was lifted in June 2005 and Mohammed Nasheed was elected leader of the MDP.

Maldives President Encourages Democratic Reform

Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed spent the next few years campaigning against the current government, trying to create democratic reform.  He would be once again arrested in August of 2005 amid “terrorism” charges, which would be later dropped.  He became the Presidential candidate in April of 2008 to go on and be elected President in October 2008.  With good reason, Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed is credited with much of the work and effort required to bring a true democracy to the Maldives.