The government has proposed to appoint Ahmed Ali Habeeb, the Principal Secretary to the President on Cabinet Affairs, as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Maldives (BML).

According to a letter sent to BML shareholders, the government proposed to appoint Habeeb in addition to earlier proposed two new directors under Article 49 of the bank's Articles of Association (AOA).

Article 49 states that the shareholders may nominate directors for the vacancies on the Board of Directors if the number of directors proposed for appointment is equal to or less than the number of vacancies.

BML said its Appointment, Nomination and Remuneration Committee had approved Habeeb as eligible for appointment to the bank's board.

The post became vacant following the resignation of the former CEO and MD Karl Stumke after the agenda of the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was announced. The EGM will be held next week.

Before becoming Cabinet Secretary, Habeeb was the General Manager of Apollo Holdings for 16 years. During that time, he also served as a Board Director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) from April 2012 to February 2019.

Habeeb received his higher education in accounting. He is also a member of the UK Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). He is also the Managing Director of Megaton, Cocobolo Maldives and The Exquisite Holidays.

BML's EGM was scheduled at the request of the government as the bank's major shareholder.