Parliament endorses new finance minister Zareer

The Parliament has approved the appointment of Hassan Zareer as the country’s new finance minister.

The Parliament endorsed Zareer with a unanimous vote of 49 on Wednesday afternoon, a day after the Government Oversight Committee greenlighted his appointment.

The vote took place after nine lawmakers from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were ejected from the Parliament chambers for protesting over the legislature’s committee allocation.

Zareer, who has worked in various tax and audit-related roles since 2000, most recently served as the commissioner general of taxation – a role he was appointed to in May 2024.

He was appointed as the finance minister on June 8, after Moosa Zameer left President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s cabinet for health reasons.

Zareer is the third person to be appointed to the role since the incumbent administration took office in 2023.

Zareer holds a Bachelor of Accounting and a Master of Science in Finance from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He also holds the qualifications of Fellow Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA, CGMA) in the UK and Certified Practicing Accountant in Australia.