Mohammed Waheed Hassan | |
---|---|
5th President of the Maldives | |
In office 7 February 2012 – 17 November 2013 |
|
Vice President | Mohammed Waheed Dean |
Preceded by | Mohamed Nasheed |
Succeeded by | Abdulla Yameen |
2nd Vice President of the Maldives | |
In office 11 November 2008 – 7 February 2012 |
|
President | Mohamed Nasheed |
Preceded by | Ibrahim Muhammad Didi |
Succeeded by | Mohammed Waheed Deen |
Personal details | |
Born |
Malé, Maldives |
3 January 1953
Political party | National Unity Party |
Spouse(s) | Ilham Hussain |
Children | Widhadh Fidha Jeffrey Salim |
Alma mater |
American University of Beirut Stanford University |
Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik (Maldivian: ޑރ. މުޙައްމަދު ވަޙީދު ޙަސަން މަނިކު; born 3 January 1953) was the 5th President of the Maldives from 7 February 2012 to 17 November 2013, after the disputed resignation of the 4th President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed. He has worked as a news anchor, a United Nations official with UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO, and a member of the Maldivian Parliament. Waheed was the first citizen of the Maldives to receive a Ph.D., having received it at Stanford University in the U.S., and reportedly the first person to appear on Maldivian television. He was Vice President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012.
On 7 February 2012, he assumed the office of president following the disputed resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed.
Waheed was born to Hassan Ibrahim Maniku and Aishath Moosa. He was the first of ten children. President Waheed attended the American University of Beirut for four years, studying for two of those years in the midst of the Lebanese civil war; completing a bachelor's degree in English Language as well as a diploma in teaching. By 1976, President Waheed returned home to the Maldives, and took up a post teaching the Language at Jamaaludheen School in Male’ (the capital of the Maldives). President Waheed taught many students who would become highly influential members of Maldivian society both in the Government, as well as in the private sector. Among his students is the popular television comedian Yoosuf Rafeeu (commonly known as Yoosay), along with members of the government such as the former Executive Secretary to the Parliament Abdullah Shahid. President Waheed also taught many senior civil servants such as the current Elections Commissioner and the Minister for Presidential Affairs Mohammed Hussein. During this time, President Waheed also helped develop the first English language curriculum in Maldivian schools.
By September 1976, President Waheed was granted a full scholarship to attend Stanford University in the United States. After completing his masters in Education Planning in 1979, he returned home to the Maldives in order to begin working for the Ministry of Education. After his graduation, he remained in the United States for two more years due to the necessity of his newly born son to receive medical treatment. And although he had the opportunity to remain in the United States, he elected to return home, giving up his job as a project manager of a technology firm, in San Francisco. He went to Addu after that due to political issues.