Mohamed Nasheed is a Maldivian politician and activist. He is former President of the Maldives. Popularly addressed as the ‘Mandela of the Maldives’ for his advocacy of human rights and democratic governance, he became the first democratically elected president in Maldivian history. He started his career as a political journalist and became an iconic personality by playing an important role in the removal of the authoritarian rule of Maumoon Gayoom. Having faced police detention and physical torture for his political ideology, he went on to become the Amnesty International “Prisoner of Conscience” thereby making room for a more liberalized and non violent political culture in Maldives. He has been honored with various awards for his environmental consciousness and for exposing the vulnerability of the nations to the hazards of carbon emissions. His never ending efforts directed at fighting the adversities of climate change got him the title of ‘Hero of the Environment’ by the Time Magazine. Although forced to resign after 2.5 years of rule for reasons still debatable, he has played a remarkable role in the political arena of Maldives.