President of the Maldives
President of the Republic of Maldives | |
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ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ރައީސުލްޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ ( Head of Government | |
Residence | Muliaage |
Seat | Malé |
Appointer | Popular vote |
Term length | 5 years, renewable once |
Constituting instrument | Constitution of the Maldives |
Inaugural holder | Mohamed Amin Didi |
Formation | 1 January 1953 |
Unofficial names | Prime Minister of the Maldives |
Deputy | Vice President |
Salary | MVR 120,000/US$7,818 monthly[1] |
Website | presidency.gov.mv |
The President of the Republic of Maldives (
The current president is Mohamed Muizzu, who was elected in 2023 with a majority of 54.05%, defeating then-president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of the Maldives |
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Constitution
The Constitution of the Maldives is the supreme
The current constitution is known by its
History
Sultanate and First Republic
The first written constitution of the Maldives was brought to effect in 1932 by Sultan
Soon afterwards in 1934, a second constitution was written and brought into effect. In that same year, Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen III was deposed for violating his own constitution.
Under the rule of Sultan Hassan Nooraddeen II, a third constitution was written and brought into effect. on 30 January 1940, the constitutional system was deemed unnecessary and was abolished; only to be reinitiated in 1942. (5th constitution) After another constitution change in 1951, the Maldives was declared a republic in 1953.
Under the rule of President
Second Republic
After the second republic was declared, new president Ibrahim Nasir ratified a new constitution on 11 November 1968. This constitution was amended thrice, in 1970, 1972 and 1975 respectively.
Under the rule of President
In June 2008, an assembly, called the "Special
This new constitution includes a judiciary run by an independent commission, and independent commissions to oversee elections and fight corruption. It also reduces the executive powers vested under the president and strengthens the parliament. Among other changes, it states that "a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives" and therefore it removed citizenship from around 3,000 Maldivians (0.85% of the population).
Features
The constitution consists of a preamble, fourteen chapters followed by three schedules. Each chapter and schedule focus on a specific topic. The following is a list of chapters and schedules and the focus of each.
Chapters
- Chapter 1 - State, Sovereignty and Citizens
- Chapter 2 - Fundamental Rights and Freedoms
- Chapter 3 - The People's Majlis
- Chapter 4 - The President
- Chapter 5 - The Cabinet of Ministries
- Chapter 6 - The Judiciary
- Chapter 7 - Independent Commissions and Offices
- Chapter 8 - Decentralized Administration
- Chapter 9 - Security Services
- Chapter 10 - Properties, Liabilities and Legal Actions of the State
- Chapter 11 - State of Emergency
- Chapter 12 - Amendment of the Constitution
- Chapter 13 - Application and Construction of the Constitution
- Chapter 14 - Transitional Matters
Schedules
- Schedule 1 - Oaths of Office
- Schedule 2 - Administrative Divisions
- Schedule 3 - National Flag
Elections
Elections in the Maldives gives information on election and election results in the Maldives.
Maldives elects on national level a head of state, the president, and a legislature. The president is elected directly for a five-year term by the people.
The
British military presence and Suvadive secession
Beginning in the 1950s, political history in the Maldives was largely influenced by the British military presence in the islands. In 1954 the restoration of the sultanate perpetuated the rule of the past. Two years later, the United Kingdom obtained permission to reestablish its wartime RAF Gan airfield in the southernmost Addu Atoll, employing hundreds of locals. Maldives granted the British a 100-year lease on Gan that required them to pay £2,000 a year, as well as some 440,000 square metres on Hitaddu for radio installations. This served as a staging post for British military flights to the Far East and Australia, replacing RAF Mauripur in Pakistan which had been relinquished in 1956.
In 1957, however, the new prime minister,
Instead the initial British measure of lukewarm support for the small breakaway nation was withdrawn in 1961, when the British signed a treaty with the Maldive Islands without involving Afeef. Following that treaty the Suvadives had to endure an economic embargo. In 1962, Nasir sent gunboats from Malé with government police on board to eliminate elements opposed to his rule. One year later the Suvadive republic was scrapped and Abdullah Afif went into exile to the Seychelles, where he died in 1993.
Meanwhile, in 1960 the Maldives had allowed the United Kingdom to continue to use both the Gan and the Hitaddu facilities for a thirty-year period, with the payment of £750,000 over the period of 1960 to 1965 for the purpose of Maldives' economic development.
The base was closed in 1976 as part of the larger British withdrawal of permanently stationed forces 'East of Suez' initiated by Labour government of Harold Wilson.
Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945 CF619.jpg|
Independence
On 26 July 1965, the Maldives gained independence under an agreement signed with the United Kingdom. The independent monarchy of the Maldives declined to join the Commonwealth.
The British government retained the use of the Gan and Hitaddu facilities. In a national referendum in March 1968, Maldivians abolished the sultanate and established a republic, which was declared on 11 November 1968.
In line with the broader British policy of
On 15 November 1967, a vote was taken in parliament to decide whether the Maldives should continue as a
Nasir Presidency
The Second Republic was proclaimed in November 1968 under the presidency of
In 1973, Nasir was elected to a second term under the constitution as amended in 1972, which extended the presidential term to five years and which also provided for the election of the prime minister by the Majlis. In March 1975, newly elected prime minister Zaki was arrested in a bloodless coup and was banished to a remote atoll. Observers suggested that Zaki was becoming too popular and hence posed a threat to the Nasir faction.
During the 1970s, the economic situation in the Maldives suffered a setback when the Sri Lankan market for Maldives' main export of dried fish collapsed. Adding to the problems was the British decision in 1975 to close its airfield on
Nasir was widely credited with modernising the long-isolated and nearly unknown Maldives and opening them up to the rest of the world, including by building the first international airport (
He was credited with many other improvements such as introducing an English-based modern curriculum to government-run schools and granting vote to Maldivian women in 1964. He brought television and radio to the country with formation of .
Tourism in the Maldives began to be developed by the beginning of the 1970s. The first resort in the Maldives was Kurumba Maldives which welcomed the first guests on 3 October 1972. The first accurate census was held in December 1977 and showed 142,832 persons residing in Maldives.
When Nasir relinquished power Maldives was debt-free and the national shipping line with more than 40 ships remained a source of national pride.
Nasir was criticized for his
Nasir's hasty introduction of the Latin alphabet (Malé Latin) in 1976 instead of local Thaana script – reportedly to allow for the use of telex machines in the local administration – was widely criticised. Clarence Maloney, a Maldives-based U.S. anthropologist, lamented the inconsistencies of the "Dhivehi Latin" which ignored all previous linguistic research on the Maldivian language and did not follow the modern Standard Indic transliteration.Clarence Maloney. People of the Maldive Islands At the time of the romanization every island's officials were required to use only one script and they became illiterate overnight. Officials were relieved when the Tāna script was reinstated by President Gayoom shortly after he took power in 1978. However, Malé Latin continues to be widely used.
Maumoon Presidency
As Ibrahim Nasir's second term was coming to an end, he decided not to seek re-election and, in June 1978, the
There were three attempts by Nasir supporters and business interests to overthrow Maumoon's government during the 1980s – in 1980, 1983 and 1988.
Whereas the 1980 and 1983 coup attempts against Maumoon's presidency were not considered serious, the
Despite coup attempts, Maumoon served three more presidential terms. In the
Maumoon's tenure was marked by several allegations of corruption as well as allegations of autocratic rule, human rights abuses and corruption.
Maumoon's opponents and international human rights groups had accused him of employing terror tactics against dissidents, such as arbitrary arrests, detention without trial,employing torture, forced confessions, and politically motivated killings.
List of Presidents
See also
- List of Maldivian presidents by age
- President of the Maldives
- Politics of the Maldives
- History of the Maldives
- List of sultans of the Maldives
- List of head of state of the Maldives
- First family of the Maldives
- Prime Minister of the Maldives
- Vice President of the Maldives
- First Lady of the Maldives
- Second Lady of the Maldives
References
- ^ "Committee OKs pay hike for president, ministers". Sun. 19 December 2023. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
External links
- President of the Maldives on Twitter