The 20-year-old knife-wielding attacker jumped out of a crowd that gathered to welcome the President on his arrival at North Thiladhunmathi atoll in Hoarafushi islet and tried to stab Gayoom in his stomach.
However, a 15-year-old boy scout, Mohamed Jaisham, grabbed the youth and wrestled with him before the attacker was captured, officials said.
“An unidentified man attempted to attack the President with a knife today,” a statement from the President’s Office in the capital Male, said.
“The President escaped this serious attack without any harm. However, a boy scout was injured in the incident,” the statement said.
According to Maldivian Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed, Gayoom was greeting people when the youth pulled out the knife.
“The attacker had hidden the knife wrapped in a national flag,” a spokesman  said, adding that he was now in police custody. The motive for the attack was not known, police said adding, investigations were being conducted.  
The 76-year-old Gayoom is the longest serving President in Asia and has been in power since 1978.
There have been at least three coup attempts against Gayoom in the past, including one in November 1998 during which he sought India’s help to crush it.
Faced with opposition protests to his rule in recent years, Gayoom has legalised opposition parties and has agreed to hold elections later this year.