Mahloof Approved as Maldives’ Ambassador to Japan

Parliament has approved former youth minister Ahmed Mahloof as the Maldives’ next ambassador to Japan, following a nomination by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and a review by the legislature’s Foreign Relations Committee.

In today’s sitting, 60 MPs voted in favour of Mahloof’s appointment, confirming him to the diplomatic post in line with standard procedure for ambassadorial nominations. The committee had earlier examined the president’s proposal before forwarding its report to the full chamber for debate.

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Mahloof’s confirmation comes shortly after his switch to the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) on 14 November, following his departure from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). He previously served as youth minister in the MDP-led administration of former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Announcing his exit from the MDP last month, Mahloof described the decision as a difficult one. He said certain figures within the party were aware of the reasons behind his move and acknowledged that he had been largely absent from party activities since the MDP’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election. Although Mahloof had been an outspoken critic of President Muizzu’s administration on social media until recently, he was later seen alongside the president at a public event.

The appointment was not without controversy in Parliament. During the debate on the Foreign Relations Committee’s report, Velidhoo MP Mohamed Abbas criticised the government’s decision to nominate Mahloof. Abbas, who represents Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) in parliament argued that ambassadorial positions should be an opportunity for what he described as young and educated new faces, rather than figures who frequently change political allegiance.

He said ambassadors should be individuals of integrity who do not “switch parties with every administration”, adding that it was not appropriate to “bring in people who bow to the ruler of that time and represent the country in front of the world’s developed nations”. 

Stating that the political scene in the Maldives was being disrupted and democracy undermined by a few figures like Mahloof, he chose not to participate in the vote.

Mahloof’s elevation to the ambassadorship marks the latest step in a political career that has spanned multiple parties and roles. He first entered national politics through the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) during the presidency of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, later representing South Galolhu in Parliament as a member of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). While still serving as an MP in 2015, he began working with the opposition and subsequently joined the MDP in 2018, when the party and its coalition partners won the presidential election.

Mahloof was later appointed youth minister in the Solih administration, a position he held until the end of that government’s term.