A Biographical Note
The Honourable Abdulla Shahid, MP was elected as the Speaker of the People’s Majlis on 29 May 2009, following the convening of the first Parliament of the Republic of Maldives under the new Constitution of the Republic of Maldives. His career in the parliamentary service as a vocal member of the Legislature spans 15 years (1993-2008).
The Honourable Shahid’s close engagement with politics began when he was appointed as a President’s member in the Special Majlis (the Constitutional Assembly) by President Gayoom in 1994. Subsequently, he was appointed as a President’s member to the People’s Majlis (Parliament) in 1995 and his career in the People’s Majlis continued uninterrupted since then, and in, 2000, he was elected as the Representative of the Vaavu Atoll constituency. Mr. Shahid continued to be elected as the Representative of the Vaavu Atoll and thus has served five terms as the Atoll’s Member. During his term he also served at the National Security Council, established under the Maldives Defence Force Act. Furthermore, he served as the Vaavu Atoll Member in the Special Majlis (July 2004-Aug2008) that drafted the current Constitution of the Maldives.
In May 2009, the first multi-party parliamentary elections of the Maldives, the Honourable Shahid won the seat of the Keyodhoo Constituency. Mr. Shahid’s term as a Member of Parliament is marked by his diligence and active participation in parliamentary debates. He is also noted as a fervent advocate of human rights and for his commitment to democratic governance.
In 1987 Mr. Shahid earned a Bachelors Degree in Social Science (Politics) from Canberra College of Advanced Education in Australia and served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an Assistant Undersecretary and after a brief period in Foreign Service, left for the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at the Tufts University, Boston, USA where he graduated with a Masters Degree in International Relations, in 1991.
Prior to his role as an MP the Honourable Shahid served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1984 and rose through the ranks quickly to the post of Director in which capacity he headed the International Organisations and Conferences Department. In his work, Honourable Shahid has travelled extensively and represented the Maldives in numerous meetings and international gatherings including the Commonwealth, Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Conference.
He also served as the Executive Secretary to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 1995. Since then Honourable Shahid has been pursuing his political career as a people’s representative and as a public official.
In 2005 he was appointed to the post of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Honourable Shahid’s diplomatic experience, expertise and exposure and his academic background in politics and international diplomacy as well as the track record of his performance were among the key factors that favoured him in his appointment as the Minster of Foreign Affairs on 23 August 2007.
During his tenure, Honourable Shahid modernized the Foreign Service and increased the Maldives’ presence across the globe bringing about positive change at home and abroad. In addition, his dedication and advocacy efforts at various international fora to raise awareness to the human impacts of global climate change caused ripple effects across the world. His devotion to the cause resulted in global support for the Maldives’ cause that was clearly manifest by the Human Rights Council Resolution calling for a study on the adverse effects of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights in March 2008 and at the panel discussion on global climate change at the ECOSOC meeting held in New York in July 2008.
The Honourable Shahid ended his term as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on November 11, 2008.
The Honourable Shahid enjoys soccer and plays badminton. He is fond of writing Dhivehi poetry and is married with 2 sons and a daughter.