Sultanate to Republic.
A national referendum abolishes the centuries-old sultanate. The Second Republic of the Maldives is declared, and Ibrahim Nasir — already prime minister — becomes its first president.
On 11 November 1968, a national referendum formally abolished the Maldivian sultanate. The vote was not close — over 81% of Maldivians voted to end it. The Theemuge line, the Hilaalee, the Utheemu, the Dhiyamigili and finally the Huraa dynasty had together ruled the islands for more than eight centuries.
In their place, the Second Republic of the Maldives was declared, with Ibrahim Nasir — already prime minister — installed as its first president. The change was largely procedural: Nasir had been running the country for years. But symbolically it was enormous. The Maldives entered the modern era without a king.
Continue the timeline.
- Wikipedia — Ibrahim Nasir
- Wikipedia — President of the Maldives
- Britannica — Maldives: History
Two thousand years of history — one extraordinary place to experience it.
The atolls in this story are the islands you can stay on today: private-island resorts and overwater villas, planned by a team that works from inside the Maldives.