Parliament OKs ex-DRP leader Thasmeen as ambassador to Singapore

Parliament has approved the appointment of former leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali as the next Maldivian ambassador to Singapore.

Thasmeen won the backing of the Parliament with a unanimous vote of 58 parliamentarians on Thursday afternoon.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had sent a letter seeking parliamentary approval to appoint Thasmeen as the new ambassador to Singapore two weeks back.

Thasmeen was vetted by Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, which decided he had experience in the field and was appropriate for appointment to the position.

President Solih has also sought parliamentary approval to replace the current ambassador to India, Hussain Niyaz with the current ambassador to Singapore Ibrahim Shaheeb, and appoint Ali Hussain as ambassador to Malaysia.

The position of ambassador to Malaysia had been held by Thasmeen’s wife, Visam Ali, until her resignation back in April. She did not disclose a reason for her resignation.

Both Visam and Thasmeen had previously served on the Parliament as DRP members. Thasmeen had taken over leadership of DRP following a power struggle between him and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – who had founded the party. However, Thasmeen left DRP in 2013, and both he and Visam signed with Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the current main governing party.

The requests for parliamentary approval for the appointments have been sent to the Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee for review.