Jalaalathul Malik Muhammad Fareed
King Muhammed Fareed Didi KCMG (1901-1969) was the last Sultan of Maldives from March 7, 1954 to November 11, 1968.He was the son of the elected Sultan of Maldives, Prince Abdul Majeed Didi (Al Munthakhab Liarshi Dhaulathil Mahaldheebiyya). He was deposed from the throne in order to give way for a republic.
Sultan Fareed Didi studied from the Veema Royal College in Ceylon. After spending 7 years in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), he came back and became the prime minister of Sultan Hassan Nooraddine II on December 16, 1932.
After the fall of President Mohamed Amin Didi, the country was again declared as a Sultanate. And Prince Mohammed Fareed Didi was elected as the 84th Sultan in 1954. His first Prime minister was Ehgamugey Ibraahim Ali Didi (later Ibraahim Faamuladheyri Kilegefaan). On 11 December 1957, the prime minister was forced to resign and Velaanagey Ibraahim Nasir was elected as the new prime minister on 12 December of the same year.
Sultan Fareed was an immensely popular person through out the country. He was a respected person until the last moment of his life. A referendum was held on March 15, 1968 and a republic was declared on November 11, 1968, thus ending 800 years of monarchy.
After his deposition from the throne, the sultan left the royal palace and retired to his own residence (Maabagychaage, now the parliament house) in Henveru ward. He passed away on May 27, 1969 at the age of 68 in Malé. He was given a state funeral and was buried in the Galolhu Cemetery.
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