Parliamentary approval sought to send Thoriq to UAE, Adam Shareef to Qatar

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has submitted letters to the Parliament seeking approval to appoint two former members of his cabinet to diplomatic missions in the Middle East.

Adam Shareef Umar and Thoriq Ibrahim were among 10 ministers who were asked to resign from President Muizzu’s cabinet on April 14. Adam Shareef had headed the Local Government Ministry, while Thoriq had headed the Environment Ministry. They were both later reappointed to minister-level positions within the Foreign Ministry.

While the government has not disclosed the exact date of appoint, it confirms that they were both appointed the high-ranking diplomatic role of ambassador-at-large. Former attorney general Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed was also appointed to the same position.

President Muizzu has asked for the Parliament to approve appointing Adam Shareef as the Maldivian ambassador in Qatar, and Thoriq as the Maldivian ambassador in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The requests were read at the Parliament on Thursday morning, and sent to the Foreign Relations Committee for review.

The letter sent by President Muizzu makes no mention of Dhiyana.

Both Thoriq and Adam Shareef had been part of President Muizzu’s original 22-member cabinet. Thoriq was initially appointed as the environment minister, and then as environment and tourism minister after the two ministries were merged in February 2025.

But they, along with eight other ministers, were asked to resign on April 14. The President’s Office said at the time that they had resigned to provide room for President Muizzu to run the government “in accordance with the aspirations of the people.”

The major reshuffle came after the government suffered a heavy defeat on April 4 in the local council elections and a referendum seeking to combine presidential and parliamentary elections.