Tag: cabinet appointments

New Attorney-General appointed

The new Attorney-General, Uz Mohamed Anil, took his oath of office on Thursday evening at the President’s office.

Mohamed Anil was appointed by President Abdulla Yameen Gayoom, and took his oath before Supreme Court Judge Uz Abdulla Areef.

Mohamed Anil will also sit on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), as per Article 158 (i) of the Constitution.

This marks the final appointment of the President’s Cabinet.

President Yameen’s Cabinet
Minister of Defense and National Security, Retired Colonel Mohamed Nazim
Minister of Finance and Treasury, Abdulla Jihad
Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Adheeb (PPM)
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dunya Maumoon (PPM)
Minister of Transport and Communication, Ameen Ibrahim (Jumhoree Party)
Minister of Home Affairs, Umar Naseer
Minister of Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed (Adhaalath Party)
Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Dr Mohamed Muiz (Adhaalath Party)
Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr Mohamed Shainy
Minister of Economic Development, Mohamed Saeed (Jumhoree Party)
Minister of Environment and Energy, Thoriq Ibrahim
Minister of Education, Dr Aishath Shiham (PPM)
Minister of Health and Gender, Dr Mariyam Shakeela
Minister of Youth and Sports, Mohamed Maleeh Jamaal (PPM)
Attorney General Mohamed Anil

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President Yameen appoints three more ministers to his cabinet

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has appointed three more ministers to his cabinet during a ceremony held on today (November 21) morning at the President’s Office.

The three new cabinet ministers are Dr Aishath Shiham as the Minister of Education, Dr Mariyam Shakeela as the Minister of Health and Gender and Mohamed Maleeh Jamaal as the Minister of Youth and Sports.

Earlier this week, President Yameen made 11 ministerial appointments that included his niece Dunya Maumoon as Minister of Foreign Affairs along with along with other members of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the coalition of political parties that backed him during the presidential elections.

Who’s who?

Among the newest appointments to President Yameen’s cabinet, Dr Aishath Shiham and Dr Mariyam Shakeela previously served in the cabinets of former governments.

Dr Aishath Shiham was the Minister of Youth and Sports during the final days of Maldives former autocratic ruler for 30 years, Yameen’s half-brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Dr Mariyam Shakeela formerly served in the previous government of former President Mohamed Waheed Hassan, as the Minister of Environment and Energy.

Following the death of then Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Samad Abdulla last September, Shakeela was appointed as the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs by Waheed.

Mohamed Maleeh Jamaal was the former Deputy Minster of Tourism during Waheed’s government.

Following his refusal to back his party Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP)’s decision to support Waheed’s re-election bid, Jamaal was sacked from the position and at the request of DQP and swiftly replaced by another DQP member.

DQP however later withdrew their support to Waheed and backed resort tycoon and Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim, but Jamaal opted to join the PPM.

President Yameen today also appointed Abdulla Ameen –the former State Minister of Ministry of Economic Affairs during Waheed’s administration – as a Minister for the President’s Office.

Apart from Ameen, Waheed’s Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed ‘Mundhu’ Hussain Shareef was also appointed as a Minister for the Presidents Office earlier.

People expect things to be done – President Yameen

While addressing the new appointees today, President Yameen stated that he wanted a cabinet who would disburse their maximum time and effort in providing services required by the people and who would work within a progressive timeline of development projects.

“As you would know, we have been put in charge [of the government] with a huge support from the people at such chaotic time. We have been given this opportunity to manage the affairs of the people because they want things done. They expect things to be done. They also believe things have to be done. Therefore we should not step back and we cannot fail in that,” President Yameen said.

Highlighting that the country is in desperate need for development, President Yameen noted that his manifesto had a special focus on the youths of the country and appealed to young people of the country to support the government’s efforts to develop the country.

“By the will of Allah, even today we assure the people that this is a government that will bring results,” the President added.

With 14 cabinet appointments as of now, the President is yet to appoint an Attorney General.

President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz told Minivan News that President Yameen would soon appoint a person for the position of Attorney General but did not mention a specific date.

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President Yameen appoints five ministers to cabinet

President Yameen Abdul Gayoom has reappointed four incumbent ministers to his cabinet and his niece Dunya Maumoon as Minister of Foreign Affairs, at a ceremony held at the President’s Office at 8:30pm last night.

Retired Colonel Mohamed Nazim was reappointed to the post of Minister of Defense and National Security, Abdulla Jihad as Minister of Finance and Treasury, Ahmed Adheeb as Minister of Tourism and Ameen Ibrahim as Minister of Transport and Communication.

Nazim was a key figure in the ousting of former President Mohamed Nasheed. In the last months of Dr Waheed’s presidency, Nazim dealt with dissent within the military ranks, suspending several officers for petitions expressing concern over presidential poll delays. Nazim also amended the Military Act adding a clause punishing incitement of chaos and upheaval in the military.

Dunya Maumoon is the daughter of former president of 30 years Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and niece to President Yameen. She served as the State Minister for Foreign Affairs under former President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

Dunya was a key figure in defending the legitimacy of Dr Waheed’s cabinet in the international community following Nasheed’s allegations of coup d’état. She had previously served as the Assistant Representative of the Maldives Office of the UNFPA and held the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007-2008 during her father’s tenure.

Abdulla Jihad also served in President Gayoom’s cabinet in 2008 and went on to become a Civil Service Commission (CSC) member in 2010. When Dr Waheed assumed the presidency, Jihad was sworn in as Minister of Finance in March 2012.

Before Adheeb was appointed as Tourism Minister in Dr Waheed’s cabinet, he held the post of the President of the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) and was a well known critic of Nasheed’s economic policies. Under his leadership, the MNCCI made a failed attempt in court to halt the enactment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, citing worse economic ramifications and violations of law.

During his tenure in Dr Waheed’s cabinet, Adheeb was embroiled in a controversy involving the infamous pair of Armenian brothers linked with drug trafficking, money laundering, raids on media outlets and other serious crimes in Kenya.

Transport Minister Ameen has also served in key political positions in Gayoom’s presidency including Deputy Minister of Gender and Family and went on to become the Chief Executive Office of Villa TV. He is a member of presidential candidate Qasim Ibrahim’s Jumhooree Party (JP).

After Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz administered the oath of office, Yameen asked his ministers to serve the state with sincerity and hard work to the best of their ability

Following the oath ceremony, Yameen met with the senior officers of the Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF) and pledged to strengthen the military. The MNDF greeted the commander in chief with a guard of honour and the national anthem at Bandaara Koshi.

Yameen also met with senior Maldives Police Services (MPS) officers including Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz and Deputy Police Commissioner Hussein Waheed at the Iskandhar Building.

According to the police, Yameen noted that the MPS is a noble service, but police officers faced public resentment and anger as they worked in the frontline of law enforcement. However, Yameen said he believed the public took pride in the MPS.

The President requested individual police officers to work within the law and uphold good behavior and assured the MPS he would develop the police service during his tenure. He also asked the police to expedite investigations and the process of issuing criminal record reports for youth when they apply for jobs.

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“That was yesterday”: JP Jabir explains u-turn on Health Minister issue

Jumhoree Party (JP) Deputy Leader Abdulla Jabir, after yesterday calling for the removal of the newly confirmed Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed, has today described him as “the perfect minister”, pledging his party’s full support to the cabinet member.

Speaking with Sun Online yesterday, Jabir was quoted as having said that the Health Ministry ‘slot’ had been assigned to JP and that, following Jamsheed’s refusal to sign with the party, it would consider proposing a no-confidence motion against him.

However, when contacted by Minivan News today regarding this issue, Jabir was in full support of the “highly qualified” Jamsheed.

“Jamsheed is a suitable person and we will support him”, said Jabir. “This is a coalition partner government and we have come to an understanding.”

Jabir made no attempt to disown the previous day’s comments – which included a threat to reconsider the JP’s position in the unity government – saying only, “that was yesterday”.

When asked about the issue of the cabinet ‘slots’, Jabir told Minivan News that this was no longer an issue and that the JP was happy to work with its coalition partners.

President spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was similarly confident in the security of the government-aligned group.

“There is no chance that the JP will pull out of the coalition,” he said.

When asked about the allocation of certain ministries to certain parties, Abbas said that he wished to make no comment about the matter.

Yesterday

Jamsheed’s appointment was approved in the Majlis yesterday alongside three other cabinet posts. The ratifications became necessary after two new ministries had been created by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

The cabinet changes entailed the division of the ‘Ministry of Health and Family’ into the ‘Ministry of Health’ and the ‘Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights’.

The ‘Ministry of Housing and Environment’ has now become the ‘Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure’ and the ‘Ministry of Environment and Energy’.

The approval for these posts was delayed after they failed to gain the approval in the government accountability committee. Yesterday’s vote was conducted on the full floor of the house.

Committee member Alhan Fahmy, who joined the JP at the start of June, sided with the opposition MDP members in blocking three of the four nominees .

The final nominee for the post of Minister of Gender – JP member Dhiyana Saeed – was approved by the committee after Fahmy abstained from this round of voting.

Speaking with local newspaper Haveeru before yesterday’s vote, Fahmy said he would again withhold his support for the candidates.

“I will not vote for them because I have doubts about the legitimacy of this government. I won’t vote because the Commission of National Inquiry has not issued a definitive statement. Because from my investigation, it seems this government had come to power from a coup,” Fahmy explained to Haveeru.

The JP’s Council had agreed last month that its leaders would forward the name of Dr Ibrahim Didi to the President for the position of Health Minister.

Didi joined the JP at the start of June after an acrimonious departure from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Formerly the President of the MDP, Didi was elected, unopposed, to the newly created post of President of the JP shortly after having joined the party.

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