He had previously worked as a news anchor, a teacher, a principle, a United Nations international civil servant with UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO, and as member of the Maldivian Parliament.

Amid controversy over vote tampering and following a police investigation, the results of that election were later annulled by the Supreme Court of the Maldives, after which Waheed chose not to stand for re-election.

President Waheed taught many students who would become highly influential members of Maldivian society both in the Government, as well as in the private sector.

Among his students is the popular television comedian Yoosuf Rafeeu (commonly known as Yoosay), along with members of the government such as the former Speaker of the Parliament, and current Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid.

President Waheed also taught many senior civil servants such as the current Elections Commissioner and the Minister for Presidential Affairs Mohammed Hussein.

Subsequently, he completed his PhD in 1986, also at Stanford University, after which he remained in the United States for two more years due to the necessity of his newly born son to receive medical treatment.

And although he had the opportunity to remain in the United States, he elected to return home, giving up his job as a project manager of a technology firm, in San Francisco.

[citation needed] It is believed and confirmed by other children of his mother Aishath Moosa that she was subjected to torture during Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s tenure and later died from her injuries while her son Naushad Waheed was in prison.

And then I have all the law enforcement agencies’ fully backing me.’[4] Waheed left Maldives in 1992, and he took a job with UNICEF, working in Tanzania and then Bangladesh.

Due to political developments in the Maldives, Waheed retired from the UN, and returned home to try to play a role in bringing democracy to the country.

[5] However, as his resources depleted, and as he felt the main opposition party began to favor a more militant approach, Waheed returned to the UN, performing short-term assignments.

[citation needed] After his career in the United Nations, Waheed returned to the Maldives once again to stand for the leadership of the newly formed Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

After they won the election, Nasheed and his vice presidential candidate, Waheed, were sworn in on 11 November 2008, in a special session of the People's Majlis at Dharubaaruge.

[7] Waheed and his supporters, however, state that the transfer of power was voluntary and constitutional,[8][9] and have agreed to launch an independent review of the events surrounding Nasheed's resignation.

[10] BBC News reported that Waheed's subsequent appointment of several ministers associated with the former president Gayoom "raised eyebrows", and that "most believe other forces were at play" behind the protests that chased Nasheed from office.

[14] On 1 March 2012, Waheed was blocked from opening the Maldivian Parliament by Nasheed, who accused him of breaking a promise to set a date for a new election.

In his first independent bid for elected office, Waheed was routed in the four-way race which pitted him against three other candidates, amongst them, frontrunner and former president Mohamed Nasheed.

[23] Waheed announced his withdrawal from the rerun of the 2013 presidential election later scheduled for 9 November 2013, after polling held on 7 September 2013 was annulled by the Supreme Court.