Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (; born 4 May 1964), popularly known as Ibu, is a Maldivian politician who served as the 7th President of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023. Solih was a parliamentarian for 15 years, he represented the Hinnavaru constituency and the Lhaviyani Atoll constituency during his tenure. He played a significant role in the democratic reforms of the Maldives and led the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to victory in the 2018 presidential election. Solih was elected president on 23 September 2018 after winning the 2018 presidential election as the candidate for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). His presidency focused on democratic governance, environmental sustainability, and strengthening international relations.

Early and personal life

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was born on 1 March 1962 in Hinnavaru, Maldives. At a young age, he moved to

Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...

for his education and has been a resident there ever since. He is one of 13 children in his family. Solih completed his

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

at Majeediyya School in Malé. During his school years, he was a popular student who actively participated in various school activities, particularly in sports. He is married to Fazna Ahmed and they have a daughter named Sarah and a son named Yaman. Solih has been associated with former president

Mohamed Nasheed Mohamed Nasheed (; born 17 May 1967), also known as Anni (), is a Maldivians, 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 Part ...

, who is also the first cousin of Solih's wife Fazna. Solih and Nasheed played an instrumental role in establishing multiparty democracy in the Maldives. After three years into his presidency, the relations between Solih and Nasheed collapsed due to ideological disputes within their party. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has been a senior figure in the party and lead the first parliamentary group of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in 2009 until he was elected as the president of Maldives in 2018.

Political career

Solih has been the parliamentary group leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) since 2011. He has served as the leader of the joint parliamentary group since the opposition coalition was formed in March 2017. Solih was selected as the new presidential candidate for the coalition of opposition parties in the 2018 election, when former president

, due to his prior conviction, was not able to contest as a candidate for presidential election. Solih went on to claim a landslide victory over Yameen, winning the election with 58.4% of the vote and receiving nearly 38,500 votes more than his opponent. In the run-up to the election, many foreign observers had asserted that the election could be rigged in Yameen's favor and that he was thus likely to win a second term. However, when the counting of ballots was nearing completion on election night, President Yameen addressed the nation and conceded the election to Solih, this being a few hours after the latter had claimed victory and urged the president for a

peaceful transition of power A peaceful transition or transfer of power is a concept important to democracy, democratic governments in which the leadership of a government peacefully hands over control of government to a newly elected leadership. This may be after elections o ...

. The main issue of the campaign has widely been recognized as the question of whether the Maldives should continue to pursue closer relations with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, as it had under Yameen’s administration, or whether it should instead turn to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and countries of the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

(especially the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

), which is a direction more favoured by the MDP-led opposition coalition.

Presidency

Solih assumed office on 17 November 2018, following the end of Abdulla Yameen's 5-year term. Solih became the 7th president of the Maldives, and the country's third democratically elected president, following

and Abdulla Yameen, since Nasheed unseated

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( ; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Tra ...

in the 2008 election, ending the latter's 30-year long, six-term incumbency. Solih is the first Maldivian president to be born outside the capital of

, as well as the second-oldest person to assume the presidency, at the age of 54, with only Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik being older when taking office. On 19 November 2019, Solih announced that the Maldives would rejoin the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

, a decision recommended by his cabinet, considering that the Maldives was a republic in the Commonwealth of Nations from 1982 to 2016. Solih became a Commonwealth head of government and a Commonwealth head of state when the Maldives returned to the Commonwealth on 1 February 2020. His government also sought to pursue closer relations with India. This was contrary to former president, Abdulla Yameen who pursued closer relations with China, implicating India. Solih reaffirmed the country's previous "India-First Policy" stance in regards to the country's foreign affairs. In the April 2019 Maldivian parliamentary election, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won in a landslide victory, winning 65 of 87 seats in the parliament. This was the first time a single party was able to get a supermajority in Maldivian history. In 2021, his government exceeded the target amount of tourists for that year and achieved 1.3 million tourists. In 2022, he started the Greater Malé Connectivity Project which links

, Villingili, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi. In 2023, he completed a vast amount of infrastructure projects in the different islands of the Maldive such as L. Hithadhoo, D. Hulhudheli, and more. His government also resolved the 58-year-old boundary dispute between the Maldives and

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) where they ruled in favor of the Maldives thus being given the bigger half. During the 2023 Maldivian presidential election, Solih was seeking reelection with a new running mate, Mohamed Aslam. During which he lost to the opposition backed PNC- PPM's Mohamed Muizzu.

Post-presidency

During the 2024 Maldivian parliamentary election, Solih was campaigning for parliament majority for the 20th Parliament Session of the People's Majlis. But unfortunately, his party got minority and the People's National Congress (PNC) got majority.

References

External links