Abdulla Yameen
Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician who was the 6th President of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018. He left office on 17 November 2018 following his defeat in the 2018 presidential election, in which he sought to win a second 5-year term. As of February 2020, he is currently imprisoned in Maafushi Prison for money-laundering crimes.
Yameen was elected president in the 2013 presidential election as the candidate of the Progressive Party, defeating Maldivian Democratic Party leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed in the second round of the re-run, after the initial election was annulled. He was the second democratically elected president of the Republic of the Maldives.
Career
Yameen started his government service in July 1978. Following his undergraduate studies in Beirut, Lebanon. He served first as Secretary at the Department of Finance and then as Research Officer at the Research and International Organisations Division of the Maldives Monetary Authority.On his return after completing his postgraduate studies, Yameen started serving at Ministry of Trade and Industries. He held many post throughout his career at the ministry and was appointed as Minister of Trade and Industries on 11 November 1993 under president Maumoon.
As the Trade Minister, Yameen helped Maldives become part of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and other international trade and investment organisations.
Under president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Yameen held key cabinet position first as Minister of Higher Education and then as Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation
Entry into politics
After the 2008 Maldivian presidential election the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party leadership was throw into contentious conflicts of interest. This led to the president of the party and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom to resign.Yameen left the party and created his own People's Alliance. His party contested in the 2009 Maldivian parliamentary election and won 7 seats including him and he gained support of Qasim Ibrahim. This led to Maumoon and Yameen to decided to join power and create Progressive Party of Maldives in 2011.
During the 2011–12 Maldives political crisis yameen played a major role in ousting president Mohamed Nasheed from office who he viewed as a threat to Islam and the nation. President Mohammed Waheed Hassan created new alliance with the opposition political leaders and created coalition against Mohamed Nasheed for the 2013 Presidential Election.
2013 presidential election
In the first round of voting for the 2013 Maldivian presidential election Yameen received 61,278 of the vote and the main opposition former president Mohamed Nasheed received 96,764.However, no candidates received more than the 50% which is the minimum support required to be president.
Before the second round the coalition decided to back Yameen as the president against Nasheed. 111,203 was received by Yameen and he was sworn in as president as soon as election officials declared him the winner.
Presidency (2013–2018)
The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge project, which was launched in 2015, is the first of its kind in the Maldives. It is 1.4 kilometres long and 20 metres wide, linking Malé’s eastern edge to the western corner of Hulhulé Island, where Velana International Airport is located. It will provide one lane for four-wheeled vehicles and one lane for motorcycles on either side. There is also a lane for pedestrians on both sides.Construction of the bridge began in 2016 and following its completion in mid-2018, the bridge will help to improve inter-island transport and economic development in the region by providing a reliable land connection for locals and holidaymakers between the capital Male, the airport, and the new youth city of Hulhumalé. President Yameen inaugurated the Sinamale bridge on August 30, 2018. This is the first ever bridge to be constructed on the archipelago, to cover a distance of more than a kilometre.
Expansion of the country's main gateway, Velana International Airport is expected to be completed within the second quarter of 2018. The project will expand and increase the capacity of the airport to handle more passengers and aircraft. This ambitious project consists of a fuel farm with a storage capacity of 45 million litres and a cargo complex with the capacity to handle 120,000 tonnes, a new Code F 3,400-meter-long, 60-meter-wide runway which is able to cater to the largest of aircraft such as Antonov An-225 and Airbus A380 and a new passenger terminal. Upon completion, the existing runway will be converted into a taxiway, reducing the turnaround time of aircraft at the airport. The new terminal is expected to increase the ability to serve around 8 million passengers from the current rate of 1.5 million passengers a year. The new international passenger terminal will consist of a floor area of 78,000 square meters, the new terminal will have 40 departure checking counters, 38 immigration counters, 12 jetties, and six aero-bridges.
Other new airports are being developed to accommodate to the increase of the influx of more passengers and tourists which is expected to rise in the years to come. New regional airports are being built on islands such as Kulhudhuffushi and existing regional airports such as Gan International Airport have been converted to international airports with international airlines slowly beginning their operations.
The city of Hulhumalé was also being developed under the supervision of Yameen. The new land required for Phase II of Hulhumalé was reclaimed at the beginning of 2014 and ever since, speedy development has followed through such as construction of roads and other necessary infrastructure. Yameen has also initiated a grand housing project called 'Hiyaa' to provide sheltering for an estimated 100,000 people. The project under the second phase of Hulhumalé's development will see the construction of 10,080 housing units including flats.
Yameen had further pledged to improve healthcare facilities to include better treatment of cancer patients and those with heart ailments – in addition to committing towards improving investigative, and other technical capabilities. Furthermore, the new 25-storey high-rise hospital, Dharumavantha Hospital, considered as the biggest investment for the Maldivian Health sector under Yameen's administration, will be a technologically innovative inclusion to the Maldives health sector and promises to deliver enhanced services and would utilize new and improved state-of-the-art equipment. The building is designed to 'shield' radiation while a life support system will be installed to the premises. Furthermore, six floors of the building is designated to national diagnostic center. The building will also have a fully equipped and enclosed section to store volatile chemicals. Other facilities planned to be included in the building include a gym, hydro-therapy center, rehabilitation suite along with a child care center and a swimming pool. A new medical college which meets the international standards is also being established for the first time ever under the supervision of Yameen to further revolutionize the health sector in Maldives. Two floors of the new state-of-the-art hospital is designated to the medical college to facilitate the best amenities for the students practicing their MBBS in the medical college in Maldives.
In Addu, a new tertiary hospital is being completed to ensure access to top level healthcare apart from only being available in just the capital city of Malé. To increase the country's revenue and decrease the dependency on just tourism, Yameen also envisions that these projects will sprout a new and additional source of revenue for the economy of Maldives-medical tourism.
2018 election
Yameen was defeated by joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in 2018 presidential election held on 23 September 2018. Yameen conceded defeat in a televised statement aired next day.Alleged assassination attempts
On 28 September 2015, an explosion took place on board the presidential yacht 'Finifenmaa' carrying Yameen and his wife along with top government officials from the airport island Hulhulé as it was nearing to dock at the presidential jetty, Izzuddeen Faalan in Malé. Yameen escaped unhurt, but the first lady, a presidential aide, and a bodyguard were injured. The first lady sustained minor fractures to her spine, and was hospitalized for over a month.Following the incident, government officials provided conflicting reports on the cause of the explosion. Although government officials initially pointed to a mechanical failure as a likely cause, they later claimed an international team of investigators from the U.S. FBI, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Sri Lanka ruled out this theory. The government then declared the incident an assassination attempt.
The FBI later refuted this claim, stating they had found no conclusive evidence suggesting the blast was the result of an explosive device. An unnamed Sri Lankan official who suggested the blast was the result of a "high explosive explosion" did not provide further details, and although the Maldives' local probe commission cited Saudi Arabian investigators as saying there were signs of RDX, they provided no evidence to support that claim, nor have Saudi Arabian officials confirmed this conclusion.
It was announced that investigations revealed that the vice president, some government officials and soldiers had been involved. They all were later found guilty and charged with high treason and terrorism resulting them being sentenced to jail. Former vice president Ahmed Adeeb was found to have illegally possessed firearms to attempt a coup by eliminating senior government officials as well as masterminding the bomb plot by ordering and bribing few soldiers to plant an IED in the yacht and destroy the evidence as soon as the yacht is taken for investigation following the explosion. However the FBI of the United States investigated the blast and stated it found no evidence for an explosion cause by a bomb.
Indictment
On December 16, 2018, the nation's high court seized $6.5 million in assets from Yameen. On February 6, 2019, Yameen was charged with theft, money laundering, and giving false statements to police. The investigation relates to a deal to lease tropical islands for hotel development, and an alleged payment of $1 million of government money through a private company, SOF Private Limited, into Yameen's personal bank account. Police also submitted a report to the nation's General Prosecutor's Office claiming, among other things, that Yameen gave false statements when he was being questioned.The Criminal Court found Yameen guilty of all charges on November 8, 2019. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison with an additional fine of 5 million dollars owed to the state.