Male, Nov 11: Mohamed Nasheed, who beat odds to take
over as Maldives' new President today after languishing as a
political prisoner, is considered a 'latter day Nelson
Mandela' and the most prominent pro-democracy face of the
archipelago who ended the 30-year reign of Asia's longest
serving leader.
Nasheed, better known as "Anni", who defeated Maumoon
Abdul Gayoom in last month's first democratic presidential
election in the picturesque island nation in the Indian Ocean
by a convincing majority, has projected himself as a harbinger
of change.
An outspoken critic of Gayoom and his policies, he was
arrested and jailed several times since 1992. He left the
country in 2003 and was one of the founders of the Maldivian
Democratic Party in exile.
Nasheed, better known as "Anni", returned to the island
nation on April 30, 2005, only after Gayoom, under
international pressure, launched a democratic reform programme
and lifted the ban on forming political parties.
Leading the tiny nation of 1,192 islands, which faces
extinction from global warming, the 41-year-old leader will
now have to work to keep his promises of promoting its
lucrative tourism industry, ensuring a fairer distribution of
wealth and bringing economic prosperity through privatisation.
The Colombo and UK-educated Nasheed started his career as
a journalist and was persecuted for his writings in the
'Sangu' news magazine. The publication was banned and he was
put under house arrest. Nasheed was later imprisoned after
giving an interview to the international press about his ill-
treatment in detention. (MORE)
Nasheed spent 18 months in solitary confinement and is
said to have been severely tortured. After spending some time
abroad following his release, he was later jailed again for
political writing, becoming, like Mandela, an Amnesty Prisoner
of Conscience in 1997.
He now lives in the capital island of Male with his wife,
who works for the UN, and two daughters.
In the run-up to the elections, in July 2008, Nasheed
along with some other MDP leaders, visited Chennai and Delhi
to attend seminars organised through the Observer Research
Foundation and presented his new vision for Maldives.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 00:00