Dr. Hussain Rasheed appointed as Fisheries Minister, Shauna to serve as Minister of Environment
While Zaha Waheed was removed from office as the Fisheries Minister, it is believed she will receive a ministerial position at the President's Office
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has brought major changes to his cabinet over the past few months
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has appointed Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan as the Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture, in addition to appointing former Policy Secretary at the President's Office Aminath Shauna as his replacement as the Minister of Environment.
Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan was appointed as Fisheries Minister after the sacking of Zaha Waheed, who served as the Minister of Fisheries under a cabinet slot reserved for the Maldives Reform Movement (MRM) in the coalition government. Prior to his appointment as the Minister of Fisheries, Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan had been serving as the Minister of Environment. Dr. Hussain has acquired his doctorate in the field of fisheries, and served as the State Minister for the Ministry of Fisheries under the Nasheed administration in the past. Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan is also the Deputy Leader of Jumhooree Party (JP).
Aminath Shauna, who previously served as a Policy Secretary to the President, was appointed as the Minister of Environment on Wednesday as well. Ahmed Hamdhan was promoted to the position of Policy Secretary at the President's Office following Shauna's appointment as Minister of Environment.
Shauna's appointment as the Minister of Environment comes at a time the mandate of the Ministry has been expanded upon significantly under the Solih administration. With the dissolution of the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, a number of functions of that ministry have been transferred under the mandate of the Ministry of Environment, which will be headed by Shauna in the coming days. Shauna has a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, Environmental Science and Economics acquired from the Westminster College in Missouri, USA, in addition to a portfolio supplemented by close association with both President Solih's and former President Nasheed's governments as a member of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
With the removal of Zaha Waheed as Minister of Fisheries, two ministers appointed to President Solih's cabinet under slots reserved for MRM have now been removed from office, with former Housing Minister Aminath Athifa having been the first to be removed from her position. The dissolution of the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology has also resulted in JP losing one cabinet slot allocated to them under the coalition agreement.
