The vice president of the Republic of Maldives () is the second-highest official in the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of the

government of the Maldives 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 br ...

, after the

president of the Maldives The president of the Republic of Maldives () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Maldives and the commander-in-chief of the Maldives National Defence Force. The current president is Mohamed Muizzu, who was elect ...

, and ranks first in the presidential

line of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.directly elected together with the president to a five-year term of office.

Ibrahim Muhammad Didi Ibrahim Muhammad Didi (; March 20, 1902 – October 6, 1981), also known as Velaanaagey Ibrahim Didi, was the Vice President of Maldives. While people demanded him to be president on terms that the vacancy of the office of the President leads ...

was the first vice president and was an appointee, while

Mohamed Waheed Hassan Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik (; born 3 January 1953) 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 Nashe ...

was the first elected vice president. The vice president is the first in the line of succession to the presidency in the event of the president's death, resignation, or removal from office. The current office-holder is

Hussain Mohamed Latheef Hussain Mohamed Latheef (; born 10 December 1982), commonly known as Sembe (), is a Maldivian politician who is the 13th and incumbent vice president of the Maldives since 2023. He was a member of the People's Majlis for Fares-Maathodaa from 2 ...

, who was sworn in on 17 November 2023.

The Office of the Vice President

The post of the Vice President are described in article 112 of the

Constitution of Maldives 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 s ...

as follows: *There shall be a Vice President of the Maldives who shall assist the President in the discharge of his duties and responsibilities *Every candidate for President shall publicly declare the name of the Vice President who will serve with him. *The qualifications of office for the Vice President shall be the same as those for the President. *If the office of the President becomes vacant for any reason, the Vice President shall succeed to the office of the President. Articles 117 and 122 then go on to describe the Responsibilities of the Vice President. *The Vice President shall exercise such responsibilities and powers of the President as are delegated to him by the President. *The Vice President shall perform the responsibilities of the President if the President is absent or temporarily unable to perform the responsibilities of office. *If the office of Vice President becomes vacant because of death, resignation, removal from office, permanent incapacity, or succession to the office of the President, the President shall appoint a new Vice President to serve the remainder of the term. The appointment shall be approved by the People’s Majlis. As a result of these responsibilities, the Office of the Vice President and its duties are determined by the President. Under the current government, President Nasheed has charged the Vice President's office with implementing a plan to become Carbon Neutral by 2020, as well as to tackle a drug problem which affects more than half of the youth population.

The First Vice President

The first Vice President of the Maldives was

Rayyithunge Muthagaddim Party Rayyithunge Muthagaddim Party (, or Peoples' Progress Party) was the first ever political party formed in the Maldives. Despite Mohamed Amin Didi's government theoretically operating within a democratic system of governance, the party had no opp ...

, who was ''appointed'' to the position by President

Mohamed Amin Didi Sumuvvul Ameer Mohamed Amin Dhoshimeynaa Kilegefaanu (; 20 July 1910 – 19 January 1954), popularly known as Mohamed Amin Didi, was a Maldives, Maldivian politician who served as the first president of the Maldives and as the head of governmen ...

(1 January 1953 to 2 September 1953). On the terms that the vacancy of the office of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

leads to the succession of the Vice President to the presidency, Ibrahim Didi also served as acting president from 2 September 1953 to 7 March 1954 after the banishment of Mohamed Amin Didi.

Ibrahim Nasir Ibrahim Nasir Rannabandeyri Kilegefan (; ; 2 September 1926 – 22 November 2008), , commonly known as Ibrahim Nasir, was a Maldivians, Maldivian politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Maldives from 1957 to 1968 under the monarchy, a ...

appointed several of his cabinet ministers as Vice Presidents following the dismissal of Prime Minister Ahmed Zaki. The Maldives did not have Vice Presidents during the reign of Sultan

Muhammad Fareed Didi King Muhammad Fareed Didi (, Al'amīru Muḥanmadu Farīdu Dīdī) , (January 11 1901 – May 27 1969), the son of the Sultan Prince Abdul Majeed Didi (Al Munthakhab Liarshi Dhaulathil Mahaldheebiyya), was the last Sultan of Maldives and the fi ...

(1954-68) and the Presidency of

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 ...

(1978-2008).

The First Elected Vice President

Under the new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

created the constitutional assembly and ratified by President Gayoom on 7 August 2008, the post of Vice President was once again created with the duties described above. Under the new constitution, Dr.

of the Gaumee Itthihaad Party became the first ''elected'' Vice President of the Maldives and was sworn into office on November 11, 2008.

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 ...

was elected into office as the

President of the Maldives The president of the Republic of Maldives () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Maldives and the commander-in-chief of the Maldives National Defence Force. The current president is Mohamed Muizzu, who was elect ...

and together they effectively ended the 30 year rule of then Asia's longest serving ruler

President 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 ...

. Dr. Waheed was the senior-most Maldivian in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

when he retired from it in June 2008, to return to the Maldives and become politically active. While in the UN, Dr. Waheed was the head of

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

for

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, Macedonia,

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. Dr. Waheed was the first Maldivian to receive a PhD having done so from the prestigious

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, having specialized in International Development. He has been involved in politics in the Maldives since 1989, when he won a Parliamentary seat with the highest number of votes recorded up to that point. However, he was forced out of the country after having pursued a bill on human rights that was not looked favored upon by the administration at the time. Dr. Waheed then spent 16 years working for UNICEF. Dr. Waheed is currently married to Ilham Hussain and has three children. Their eldest daughter, Widhadh (32), is an architect and owns an IT firm in California. Their second daughter Fidha (29) is a PhD student in East West psychology at the

California Institute of Integral Studies The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is a private graduate school (with limited undergraduate offerings) in San Francisco. Founded in 1968 as the California Institute of ''Asian'' Studies, the name was changed in 1980. CIIS has b ...

, and their son Salim Waheed (23) is in his final year at

, studying Political Science.

Oath of Office of the Vice President

The oath of office of the Vice President is described verbatim in the Maldives' Constitution. ''I, …(name of person)…, do swear in the name of Almighty Allah that I will respect the religion of Islam, that I will uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives and the fundamental rights of the Maldivian citizens, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic of Maldives, and will discharge the duties and responsibilities of the office of Vice President honestly and faithfully under the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Maldives.''

Vice Presidents

References

External links

President's Office: Vice President

Official Website of Dr. Waheed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maldives, Vice President of the Vice presidents *Main 1953 establishments in the Maldives 2008 establishments in the Maldives