View source for Muliaage

{{Short description|Official residence of the president of the Maldives}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = Muliaage palace
| image            = {{multiple image
| perrow         = 1/1
| border         = infobox
| total_width    = 250
| image1 = Muliaage palace.jpg
| image2 = Muliaage.jpg
| footer = Front view of Muliaage
}}
| former_names     = {{flatlist|
* Muleege
* Henveiru Ganduvaru
}}
| coordinates      = {{coord|4|10|39|N|73|30|45|E|type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki|display=inline,title}}
| address          = Muliaage, Medhuziyaarai Magu, [[Henveiru]], [[Malé|Malé 20115]], [[Maldives]]
| current_tenants  = [[Mohamed Muizzu]], President of the Maldives and the [[Family of Mohamed Muizzu|First Family]]
| architect        = Ahmed Dhoshimeyna Kilegefan
| owner            = Government of the Maldives
| floor_area       =
| website          = {{website|presidency.gov.mv}}
| start_date       = {{Start date and age|1914|2|10|df=y}}
| completion_date  = {{Start date and age|1919|12|7|df=y}}
| style            = [[Bungalow|Colonial bungalow]]
}}
The '''Muliaage palace'''{{efn|{{Langx|dv|މުލިއާގެ}}, pronounced {{IPA|dv|muliˈəːɡe|}}, also transliterated as Mulee Aage, Mulee-age, Mulee'aage, or Muleeaage. The palace was originally the house of King [[Hasan 'Izz ud-din]]'s father, who was from the island of Muli in [[Meemu Atoll]], and the house was known as Muleege (Mulige) or the Mulee House. Both Muleeaage and Muliaage has been used and both are correct.}} or '''Muliaage''' is the [[official residence]] of the [[president of the Maldives]]. Muliaage, situated in [[Henveiru]] within the historic center of [[Malé]], is located on Medhuziyaarai Magu, near significant landmarks, the [[Medhu Ziyaaraiy]], the [[Malé Friday Mosque]], and the Munnaru.
The residence was designed by Ahmed Dhoshimeyna Kilegefan, father of [[Mohamed Amin Didi]] in 1913, at the request of King [[Muhammad Shamsuddeen III|Muhammad Shamsuddine III]],  for his son and heir, [[Henveyru Ganduvaru Manippulu|Hassan Izzuddine, Crown Prince of the Maldives]].
==History==
===The Beginning===
The construction of Muliaage was initiated in the year 1914 and completed in 1919. It was commissioned by Sultan [[Muhammad Shamsuddeen III]] for his son and heir Prince Hassan Izzuddin. It was built on the style of [[bungalow]]s, in vogue during the colonial era in [[Ceylon]] and completed in preparation for the return of Prince [[Hassan Izzuddin]] to Male' in 1920 after completing his education at the [[Royal College Colombo|Royal College]] of [[Colombo]].
Muliaage, meaning the "new house of [[Muli (Meemu Atoll)|Muli]]", was built on the site of Mulee'ge, the ancestral home of Shamsuddeen. Muliaage was also the home of the Sultan [[Hasan 'Izz ud-din]] (or "Dhon Bandaarain" 1759–66). It was the private residence of Dhon Bandaarain's mother, Amina Dhiyo daughter of Mohamed, the Katheeb of Muli. It remained with the [[Huraa Dynasty]] rulers throughout its history. The last occupant of Muliaage was Prince Mulee'ge Manippulhu, who later ascended the throne as Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen III in 1892.
Neither Muliaage nor Mulee'ge ever served as a Royal Palace. However, it is located just a stone's throw away from the site of the former royal palace, now the [[Male'|Sultan's Park]] and the [[National Museum of Maldives]]. Most of the buildings in the royal palace grounds were demolished during [[Ibrahim Nasir|Ibrahim Nasir's]] presidency in the late 1960s. As such, today the nearest one could get to a royal Maldivian palace is Muliaage in Male’ and the Utheemu Ganduvaru on the island of [[Utheemu (Haa Alif Atoll)|Utheemu]].
Muliaage was occupied by Prince Hassan Izzuddin between 1920 and 1934. The house did not prove auspicious for the prince, though apparently he spent a lot of time there. It was famous throughout Male' as a place for merriment and gaiety with numerous music and dance performances organized by the young prince for his entertainment. Izzuddin however soon became the victim of a smear campaign organized by his uncle [[Abdul Majeed Didi|Al Ameer Abdul Majeed Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanu]] and cousin Hassan Fareed. Ultimately he was discredited and banished in 1934 to the isolated southerly island of [[Fuvahmulah]] where he died in 1938.
===Rise and Fall of the First Republic===
Following Prince Izzudin's arrest, Muliaage remained abandoned and in disuse until the second [[World War II|World War]], when it was used as the Ministry of Home Affairs by [[Mohamed Amin Didi]]. Following the abolition of the [[List of Sultans of the Maldives|Maldivian Monarchy]] in 1952, the new President [[Mohamed Amin Didi]] officially made Muliaage the Presidential Palace on January 1, 1953. Following Amin's ouster later that year it became the Prime Minister's Office under Ibrahim Faamuladheyri Kilegefaanu after the restoration of the monarchy under Sultan [[Muhammad Fareed Didi]].
Between 1960 and 1964 Muliaage served as the residence and office of the British Government Political Agent, Humphrey Arthington-Davy. He was the first British official posted to Male. Following demonstrations and acts of sabotage directed against Arthington-Davy, he later lived mainly at his retreat in Dhoonidhoo Island across the lagoon from Male.
===During the Second Republic===
After a long period of disuse, the first president of the second republic, [[Ibrahim Nasir|Ibrahim Nasir Rannabandeyri Kilegefan]] once again declared Muliaage as the Presidential Palace in 1968. Although it was the official residence of the president, Nasir only took temporary residence at Muliaage while his own house, Velaanaa'ge, was under construction. Initially, President [[Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom]] resided at Muliaage for the first two decades of his presidency. However, deeming Muliaage insufficient, Maumoom commissioned [[Theemuge]] to be built and declared it the official Presidential Palace in 1998. Muliaage was under much neglect and it served as the President's Office and later the Supreme Court during the latter years of Maumoon's presidency.
In 2008, after defeating Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom in the [[2008 Maldivian presidential election|Maldives' first democratic multi-party elections]], [[Mohamed Nasheed]] became the third president of the second republic. Nasheed was a strong critic of Maumoon's government and its alleged overspending. On these grounds, president Nasheed refused to use Theemuge because of the high costs of maintaining it as a house of residence and stayed at his own house Yaagoothu'ge for the first few months of his presidency. However, on February 4, 2009, Nasheed moved to Muliaage, once again declaring it the official residence of the Maldivian president. In 2011, Nasheed installed a solar photovoltaic energy system on the roof of Muliaage with the aim of promoting sustainable energy and sending a global message on climate leadership.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://huffingtonpost.com/brendan-demelle/maldives-president-nashee_b_752942.html|title = Maldives President Nasheed Installs Solar on Official Residence, Knocks Ignorance of Climate Deniers|website = [[HuffPost]]|date = 6 October 2010|access-date = 12 December 2019|archive-date = 1 April 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170401072011/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-demelle/maldives-president-nashee_b_752942.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://solarheadofstate.org/previous-projects/ |title=Previous Projects — Solar Head of State |website=solarheadofstate.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111184042/http://solarheadofstate.org/previous-projects/ |archive-date=2016-01-11}}</ref> After the resignation of Nasheed in February 2012, the palace became vacant.
Famous guests who stayed at Muliaage include Prime Minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] of India under President Maumoon. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh were entertained at an evening reception in 1972 by President Nasir during the couple's 2-day state visit to Male on board the Royal Yacht Britannia.
==Usage of building==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title !! Duration !! Ruler !! Notes
|-
| Residence of Crown Prince [[Hassan Izzuddin]] || 1920–1934 || Sultan [[Muhammad Shamsuddeen III]] ||
|-
| Ministry of Home Affairs || 1939–? || [[Abdul Majeed Didi]] <small>''(Regent: Hassan Fareed Didi)''</small> <br /> [[Mohamed Amin Didi]] ||
|-
| Presidential Palace || 1953–1954 || [[Mohamed Amin Didi]] ||
|-
| Prime Minister's Office || 1954–1968 || Sultan [[Muhammad Fareed Didi]] ||
|-
| Presidential Palace || 1968–1998 || [[Ibrahim Nasir]] <br /> [[Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom]] || Office moved to [[Theemuge]]
|-
| President's Office || ? || [[Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom]] ||
|-
| Supreme Court of the Maldives || 2008–2009 || [[Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom]] || Office moved to [[Theemuge]]
|-
| Official Residence of the President || 2009–present || [[Mohamed Nasheed]] (2009-2012) <br /> [[Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik]] (2012-2013) <br /> [[Abdulla Yameen]] (2013–2018) <br /> [[Ibrahim Mohamed Solih]] (2018–2023) <br/>[[Mohamed Muizzu]] (2023-present) ||
|-
|}
==Medhu Ziyaaraiy==
{{Main article|Medhu Ziyaaraiy}}
[[File:Medhuziyaarai.jpg|right|thumb|250px|View of Medhu Ziyaaraiy tomb, with the gates of Muliaage visible on the right.]]
'''Medhu Ziyaaraiy''' (literally 'Central Tomb') was a part of the original Muliaage building. Today, it is an [[Enclave and exclave|exclave]] of Muliaage; separate from the building. It houses the tomb of [[Morocco|Moroccan]] scholar Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari, who is believed to have introduced [[Islam]] to the nation in 1153.
== See also ==
*[[Theemuge]]
* [[Hilaaleege]]
*[[History of the Maldives]]
*[[President of the Maldives]]
*[[List of Sultans of the Maldives]]
== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
==External links==
*[https://tourism.gov.mv/ Ministry of Tourism]
==References==
{{reflist}}
*Divehi Tārīkhah Au Alikameh. ''Divehi Bahāi Tārikhah Khidmaiykurā Qaumī Markazu''. Reprint 1958 edn. Male’ 1990.
*H.C.P. Bell, ''The Maldive Islands, An account of the physical features, History, Inhabitants, Productions and Trade''. Colombo 1883, {{ISBN|81-206-1222-1}}.
*Muliaage Thārīkhah Therein. ''A TVM programme'' telecasted on 4 February 2009.
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Presidents of the Maldives]]
[[Category:Malé]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1919]]
[[Category:Presidential residences]]
[[Category:Government buildings in the Maldives]]
[[Category:1919 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1919 establishments in the British Empire]]