Mohammed Waheed Hassan (Dhivehi: ޑރ. މުހައްމަދު ވަހީދު ޙަސަން މަނިކު; born 3 January 1953) is the President of the Maldives and the Commander In Chief of the Maldives National Defence Force, having been sworn into office on 7 February 2012 upon the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed. He served as the first elected Vice President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012. He was a Senior Member of UNICEF while he worked for the United Nations, having been the most senior Maldivian at the UN while he worked there. Considered a moderate, Mohammed Waheed Hassan is one of the first Maldivians to obtain a PhD, having done so from Stanford University.
Early Life
He is the son of Hassan Ibrahim Maniku and Aishath of Silver Scene in Malé, the Maldivian capital, one of a number of children.
Education
In the 1970s, Waheed was given the opportunity to study at the American University of Beirut. There he completed a bachelors in the English Language. He also completed a diploma to teach English. In 1978, Waheed won a full scholarship to Stanford University. Within a year he completed a Masters in Education Planning from the Stanford University School of Education and went back to the Maldives. However, in 1982, Waheed chose to return to Stanford to continue his education. In 1985 he received a Masters in Political Science, and by 1987 he became one of the first Maldivians to receive a Doctorate of Philosophy.
United Nations career
Waheed and the head of UNICEF South Asia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkmenistan. Critics say that he did not perform while serving United Nations. He was lucky enough to secure funds from donors that resulted in a few projects in Afghanistan, but which had limited benefit to its educational system.
From : www.wikipedia.org
