Khadeeja Najeeha
Joint Secretary
Biography
Ms. Khadeeja Najeeha joined the Maldives Foreign Service in 1999, where she started as a Desk Officer (Trainee) at the Protocol Department. Since then she has been promoted through the ranks and served in various Departments of the Ministry. Throughout her career at the Ministry, she has worked in the Foreign Relations Department overseeing South Asia Division, Middle East and Africa Division, Europe, Americas Division. Ms. Najeeha has work experience at the Consular and Visa facilitation Department. From 2015-2016 she was also assigned to oversee the work at the Public Information Unit of the Ministry and from September-December 2018, served as the Director General at the Ministry assigned to directly oversee the work of the Human Rights Division.
As Joint Secretary at the Ministry since July 2020, she was appointed as the Head of the Foreign Service Institute of the Maldives (FOSIM) on 10 April 2022 and remained as the Head of the Institute till 2 August 2023. From 10 August 2022 till 10 August 2023 as Head of (FOSIM) Ms. Najeeha was appointed to the Foreign Service Advisory Board constituted under the Maldives Foreign Service Act (20/2021).
Ms. Najeeha has completed her posting as the Minister Counsellor/ Deputy Head of Mission at the High Commission of Maldives in Sri Lanka from 2018-2022. During this time, she coordinated Maldives-Sri Lanka bilateral relations.
Ms. Najeeha has represented the Maldives in numerous international meetings, conference and forums. At the 21st Session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva in 2012 she has led key negotiations of resolutions which are of interest to the Maldives. As Head of Human Rights Division of the Ministry she played an instrumental role for the Maldives successful re-election at the UN Human Rights Council in 2013. She also represented Maldives at the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva in 2016 and led Foreign Ministry team in its work on combating trafficking including playing a key role in the launching of the Campaign to combat trafficking in person’s name “Blue Ribbon Campaign” in 2013.
Ms. Najeeha has also represented the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the National Oversight Committee to Combat Human Trafficking in 2012, National CAT/OPCAT Committee member from its inception till 21 March 2019, and at the CEDAW and Child Right (CRC) Sectoral Committee.
Ms. Najeeha completed her Master of Social Science in Strategy and Diplomacy from the National University of Malaysia in 2011 and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Business Administration from the University of East London, 2009.
She is blessed with two daughters.