Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2013

A rare breed, the appealing politician. Maldives pro-democracy activist Mohamed Nasheed was jailed before ending the 30-year rule of a corrupt dictator and being elected president. Kind of a Maldives mini-Mandela. The spirited new prez tackled the climate-related problems besetting his low-lying country, often using pure showmanship to get the world’s attention. He was a crucial player in getting the USA, India and China to agree in Copenhagen in 2009. Alas, we learn in a terse postscript that he was forced from power last year by a military junta loyal to the dictator he deposed.