- Mohammed Waheed Hassan
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Dr. Mohammed Waheed Hassan
ޑރ. މުހައްމަދު ވަހީދު ޙަސަން
Vice President of Maldives Incumbent Assumed office
November 11, 2008President Mohamed Nasheed Preceded by First elected Vice President Personal details Born January 3, 1953
Malé, MaldivesPolitical party GIP - National Unity
(Gaumee Itthihaad)Spouse(s) Ilham Hussain Children Widhadh Waheed
Fidha Waheed
Salim WaheedResidence Hilaaleege' (Official)
Eureka (Private)Alma mater Stanford University Profession politician Religion Islam Dr. Mohammed Waheed Hassan (Maldivian: ޑރ. މުހައްމަދު ވަހީދު ޙަސަން; born January 3, 1953) is one of the leading political figures in The Republic of the Maldives and the current Vice President of Maldives, having been sworn into office on November 11, 2008 as the first ever elected Vice President. He was previously a Senior Member of UNICEF while he worked for the United Nations having been the most senior Maldivian in the United Nations while he worked there. Considered a moderate, Dr. Mohammed Waheed Hassan is the first Maldivian to obtain a Ph.D., having done so from the prestigious Stanford University. As a result, he is commonly to referred as Dr. Waheed by most of the Maldivians.
Contents
Early life
He is the son of Hassan Ibrahim Maniku and Aishath of Silver Scene in Male' - the capital of the Republic of Maldives. Due to his large household, he was acquainted with responsibility from a young age, learning to assist with the care of his younger brothers and sisters. In order to contribute to the income of his family, the young Waheed took on a part time job as a teacher for Alia School and Hidhaya School, and also tutored children when given the opportunity.
Dr Waheed is considered a radical who criticized President Nasheed accusing that his dicktorial instincts has rather played a negative role in promoting democracy in the Maldives. President Nasheed refers to Dr Waheed as 'Floppy' Waheed because everytime Dr Waheed has to face a political challenge, he flies to a country after being assigned a UN senior position through his contacts at UN Headquarters.
Education
In the 1970s, Waheed was given the opportunity to study at the American University of Beirut. There he completed a bachelors in the English Language. He also completed a diploma to teach English. In 1978, Waheed won a full scholarship to Stanford University. Within a year he completed a Masters in Education Planning from the Stanford University School of Education and went back to his homeland. However, in 1982, Waheed chose to return to Stanford to continue his Education. In 1985 he received a Masters in Political Science, and by 1987 he became one of the first Maldivian to receive a Doctorate of Philosophy.[1]
United Nations career
Mr. Waheed and his family left the Maldives in 1992, and Dr. Waheed took up a job with UNICEF. He was made the Head of Education in Tanzania, and then Bangladesh after that. He would later be transferred to Headquarters in New York and made a senior advisor coordinating global policy for UNICEF.[2]
In 2001, Dr. Waheed would be transferred to UNICEF South Asia based in Kathmandu, Nepal where he headed programs for the region. It was during his time as the head of this office and in the New York Headquarters when he would make policies for UNICEF that would affect his home of the Maldives. In the aftermath of the American War in Afghanistan, Dr. Waheed was asked to help with the reconstruction efforts. During that time, Dr. Waheed built up the Education Ministry from scratch and developed health and educational care for the women and children of Afghanistan. Once the Education Ministry was functioning, he was made the head of UNICEF Afghanistan.[3]
Soon, Dr. Waheed was asked to return to New York, where he was the UNICEF representative to the body responsible for reforming UN organizations. At this time, Dr. Waheed was the senior most ranking Maldivian in the United Nations. Due to political developments in his home country of the Maldives, Dr. Waheed retired from the UN at great personal cost, and returned to the Maldives to try to play a role in bringing democracy to the country. However, as his resources depleted and according to Dr. Waheed the main opposition party began to favor a more militant approach. Dr. Waheed returned to the UN performing short-term assignments.[4] During his time in UNICEF, Dr. Waheed was the head of UNICEF South Asia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkmenistan. On the contrary, critics say that he did not perform while serving United Nations. He was lucky enough to secure some funds from donors that resulted in a few projects in Afghanistan, which did not necessarily bring any positive impact to its education system.
Political Career in the Maldives
In 1980 President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom appointed Dr. Waheed to the Constitutional Assembly convened to amend the constitution of the country. This assembly would not take a step towards to democratic development. Not only did it leave the control over the legislature and judiciary in the hands of the President, it also allowed only one person to contest in an election. When Dr. Waheed realized that the Members of Parliament would not be able to make dramatic reforms, he left the Maldives to complete his education in the United States where he received two Masters and a PhD from the prestigiousStanford University. He returned as the first Maldivians to receive a Ph.D. and chose to stand for Parliament.
In 1989, Dr. Waheed ran against President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's brother-in-law - Ilyas Ibrahim. Though considered a clear underdog, Dr. Waheed's popularity made him a threat to the ruling classes. Ilyas Ibrahim together with another one of the President's brother's, Abbas Ibrahim, established the Bimbi Force.[5] This force was responsible for a number of arson attacks as well as a campaign of intimidation directed towards Dr. Waheed and his supporters. In spite of every effort made by these men, Dr. Waheed won the 1989 Parliamentary elections with the largest majority ever recorded.[6] Dr. Waheed spent the next couple of years attempting to have laws passed that would assist in the socio-economic development of the nation. After Mohamed Nasheed (also known as Anni) was arrested for writing about the corrupt methods that former President Gayoom's family used, he appealed to Dr. Waheed for help. In response, Dr. Waheed created and participated in a black ribbon campaign. During this campaign he wore a black ribbon professing his support for one of his constituents whom he saw as being wrongly imprisoned. (Later, Nasheed and Dr. Waheed would join together to beat Gayoom in a Presidential election and end 30 years worth of tyranny) Dr. Waheed introduced the first bill resembling a bill of rights, so that all Maldivian citizens could enjoy fundamental rights which are safeguarded all over the world. This bill would have helped Mohamed Nasheed, and the people of his country, but would also limit the powers of the government. Those who had supported his campaign for parliament were arbitrarily arrested. The crimes of the Bimbi Force were then blamed on those individuals, and finally in mid-1991 after most of Dr. Waheed's forer campaign supporters and much of his extended family was arrested, Dr. Waheed left the country for the good of all those who supported him and for those he cared about. .[7]
Over a decade later, after a career in the United Nations, Dr. Waheed returned to the Maldives once again to stand for the leadership of the newly formed Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). During his campaign, however, a new machine emerged working against Dr. Waheed. Believed to be both members of the government party (Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party) and other leadership candidates for MDP, this new machine worked tirelessly to defame Dr. Waheed, attacking both him and his family. During the leadership race, fliers were dumped on the streets of Male' making these slanderous accusations. Many feel that Dr. Waheed's refusal to acknowledge or address the rumors that then followed may have helped cost him the election - which he lost by a narrow margin.[8]
After having lost the leadership race, Dr. Waheed stayed with MDP for six months developing its policy papers and being key member of its administration. Dr. Waheed was also the Shadow Cabinet Minister for Atoll Development. However, after having organized and led the first legal and peaceful rally, Dr. Waheed was alienated by the party leadership due to his moderate views and finally returned to the UN. Dr. Waheed had given up his position in UNICEF. In 2006, after his work with MDP, he took up a consultancy position. In June 2008, Dr. Waheed returned to the Maldives and formed his own political party: Gaumee Itthihaad.[9]
2008 presidential election
Dr. Waheed was chosen as the Presidential Candidate of GIP - The Gaumee Itthihaad Party or The National Unity Party - in the beginning of September. However, when the election date was announced in early October GIP formed a coalition with the Maldivian Democratic Party, after being approached by the two other main opposition groups; the New Maldives Movement and the Republican Party. Though Dr. Waheed was asked to become the Vice Presidential Candidate for both the other parties, GIP finally chose to form an alliance with MDP, only days before the deadline for the submission of the candidates names. GI and MDP formed MDP Itthihaad with Mohamed Nasheed(leader of MDP) as the Presidential Candidate and Dr. Waheed as the Vice Presidential Candidate in the October 2008 presidential election. This was the first democratic election in the history of the country and ended the 30 year reign of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. After they won the election, Nasheed and Dr. Waheed were sworn in on November 11, 2008, in a special session of the People's Majlis at Dharubaaruge. Dr. Waheed was inaugurated as the first ever elected Vice President.[10]
Extras
Dr. Waheed was also the first person shown on TVM (Television Maldives). In 1978, when the first public television station was introduced to the country, Dr. Waheed was the first person shown who introduced Mr Ibrahim Shihab who inaugurated the station. Dr. Waheed also taught a number of famous individuals in Male' such as: the comedian Yoosuf Rafeeu (known as Yoosay), and the former Executive Secretary Abdullah Shahid.
See also
- The Republic of Maldives
- Vice President of the Maldives
- Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
- Mohamed Nasheed
References
- ^ [1] Interview with and Biography by Dhivehi Observer
- ^ Official Biography of Dr. Waheed
- ^ Official Biography of Dr. Waheed
- ^ [2] Stanford Daily Article
- ^ [3] Maldives Culture Article on Abbas Ibrahim
- ^ [4] Maverick Article
- ^ [5] Interview with and Biography by Dhivehi Observer
- ^ [6] Maverick Article
- ^ Official Biography of Dr. Waheed
- ^ www.miadhu.com.mv, Nasheed sworn in as Maldives new President
External links
Categories:- 1953 births
- Members of the Majlis of the Maldives
- Living people
- Maldivian Democratic Party politicians
- Vice Presidents of the Maldives
- Gaumee Itthihaad politicians
- UNICEF people
- People from Malé
- Stanford University School of Education alumni
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