Mohamed Zahir
Major General Mohamed Zahir is a former Chief of Defence Force of the Maldives National Defence Force and the National Security Advisor of the Maldives.
Education
Zahir had his secondary education in Majeediyya School. Zahir is a graduate of Hendon Police College, London, United Kingdom, and the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, United States. He also attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government, United States, in a program for Senior Executives in National and International Security. He was also awarded an honorary master's degree from the College of Defence and Security Studies of MNDF on 6 November 2017.Career
In 1972, Zahir joined the civil service and worked in various government departments before enlisting in the Maldives National Defense Force in 1978 to the rank of sergeant and was commissioned as an officer two years later.He assumed command as Chief of Defence Force of MNDF, formerly known as the National Security Service, on 11 November 1996, as a brigadier. He was promoted to the rank of major general on 21 April 2004. He was also the chairman of the MNDF Advisory Council, the highest forum of senior serving officers. Zahir is also known to many Maldivians by the nickname "two two Zahir". He held the post of CDF until 18 November 2008. He was then appointed as the national security advisor on 18 November 2008 and remained in the appointment until 2010.
During his past years of service, he has undertaken various command positions within different units of the MNDF. Before assuming the duties as the chief of staff of MNDF, he was also the deputy chief of staff of MNDF. During this tenure, he played an integral role in conceptualising and doctrinally developing the operational functioning of all the arms and services of the MNDF. He has also commanded the NSS Training Unit, now re-established as the Defence Institute for Training and Education, whereby laying the groundwork for restructure and streamlining overall training policies. Zahir's dedicated effort in the development of the military has been highly appreciated by all ranks of the Maldives National Defence Force.
In 2008, he was appointed as the National Security Advisor to the President of the Maldives until 2010, where his successor was Ameen Faisal.