<p>Maldives 44-year-old President Mohamed Nasheed, who quit Tuesday, hit the global headlines three years ago when he held a cabinet meeting under water to highlight global warming and the threat to his atoll nation.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In an innovative move aimed at grabbing attention, Nasheed and his ministers were in full scuba gear as they met for about 30 minutes at a depth of six metres just north of the capital Male in 2009.<br /><br />Nasheed was the first democratically elected president in the history of the Maldives, said the president's official website presidencymaldives.gov.mv.<br /><br />He was elected president Oct 28, 2008, defeating incumbent president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives from 1978-2008.<br /><br />Nasheed graduated from Liverpool University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Maritime Studies.<br /><br />In 1990, Nasheed helped establish Sangu, a political magazine that scrutinised the ruling political class. The government banned Sangu within a year of its first publication and Nasheed was arrested and jailed.<br /><br />In 2003, Nasheed fled the Maldives. A year later, on Nov 10, 2004, he co-founded the country's first opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party, in exile in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />After spending 18 months in self-imposed exile, Nasheed returned to the Maldives April 30, 2005 to establish the MDP in the Maldives, defying a government edict banning political parties.<br /></p>
<p>Maldives 44-year-old President Mohamed Nasheed, who quit Tuesday, hit the global headlines three years ago when he held a cabinet meeting under water to highlight global warming and the threat to his atoll nation.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In an innovative move aimed at grabbing attention, Nasheed and his ministers were in full scuba gear as they met for about 30 minutes at a depth of six metres just north of the capital Male in 2009.<br /><br />Nasheed was the first democratically elected president in the history of the Maldives, said the president's official website presidencymaldives.gov.mv.<br /><br />He was elected president Oct 28, 2008, defeating incumbent president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives from 1978-2008.<br /><br />Nasheed graduated from Liverpool University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Maritime Studies.<br /><br />In 1990, Nasheed helped establish Sangu, a political magazine that scrutinised the ruling political class. The government banned Sangu within a year of its first publication and Nasheed was arrested and jailed.<br /><br />In 2003, Nasheed fled the Maldives. A year later, on Nov 10, 2004, he co-founded the country's first opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party, in exile in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />After spending 18 months in self-imposed exile, Nasheed returned to the Maldives April 30, 2005 to establish the MDP in the Maldives, defying a government edict banning political parties.<br /></p>