Maldives is mourning the demise of the country’s second president, Mr. Ibrahim Nasir who had passed away at the age of 82 on Saturday. He died while undergoing treatment in Singapore, where he had been residing since he left the Maldives in December 1978.

Ibrahim Nasir was born in 1926 and had served the Maldivian Government at various positions. He served as the Prime Minister of Maldives during the Sultan Mohammed Fareed Didi’s reign, from 1957 to 1968. He was later elected as president of Maldives which was the second time the Maldives became a republic. He served as president from 1968 till 1978.

This national hero, who had been an enigmatic leader in Maldives, successfully pioneered many of the lucrative areas of development in the Maldives we see today. He introduced services and industries which are now the backbone of our country.

He introduced modern education, developed the Maldives’ judicial system, established our Airport, introduced modern communication in the country (established Radio and Television Maldives), and most importantly, laid the foundation for the modern day tourism industry we see today. We owe a huge part of our appreciation towards the successful, world class tourism industry, to his introduction of tourism in the Maldives through the opening of the first two resorts Vihamanaafushi (renamed to Kurumba Village later) and Bandos Island Resort.

For these reasons and many others that we are hardly able to observe today, we must appreciate this national figure as a national hero, and ensure that his name is not forgotten in the dusty pages of Maldives’ history. We must keep his service to the country alive in our stories to our children and let him be a source of inspiration.


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