President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has nominated Dr. Aishath Rameela, the incumbent administration’s first Minister of Agriculture and Animal Welfare who was recently appointed a member of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) as the president of the Commission.
The President’s letter nominating Rameela as HRCM’s president was sent to the Parliament on December 3rd. The letter was read out during the extraordinary sitting out of session held on Monday morning. Subsequently, Rameela’s nomination has been forwarded to the Parliament’s Human Rights Committee for review.
Rameela was appointed a member of HRCM on December 3rd after receiving parliamentary backing in a unanimous vote on October 29th.
A PhD holder in social science, Rameela was appointed to head the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare – a new ministry – on November 17, 2023.
On November 29, 2023, Rameela announced that she had been diagnosed with advanced metastatic serous papillary carcinoma - a highly malignant form of ovarian cancer.
She underwent surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy abroad as part of her treatment, before she tendered her resignation on December 1, 2024.
Prior to this, she had served as a state minister at the Health Ministry on two separate occasions.
The five-member HRCM is currently composed of:
Mohamed Shafeeg Mahmood, vice president
Samau Ahmed Najeeb
Ismail Habeeb Abdul Raheem
Ahmed Magsoom
Aishath Rameela