President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has presented the Order of the Distinguished Rule of Izzuddin to Ahmed Adam and Abdulla Sodiq. The two honourees were presented with the laurels at the special ceremony held to mark the National Day of Maldives.
Ahmed Adam started his service in the government on February 1, 1959, and since then, his contributions had been instrumental to national development in the field of engineering. He joined the service as an Apprentice Engineer on the ship Morning Star.
After attaining higher education in the field of engineering in Sri Lanka and the UK, Ahmed Adam continued in his service to the nation in various areas. He made notable contributions to developing electricity services, television broadcasting services, boatbuilding, mechanisation of boats and promoting technical training through the establishment of the Vocational Training Centre.
While Ahmed Adam also served in high ranking positions at the Ministry of Fisheries, Maldives National Shipping Limited (MNSL) and Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), his work in the introduction and development of the tourism sector is also highly remarkable.
Meanwhile, Abdulla Sodiq has been in the service of the government for the past 55 years and continues his contributions as a consultant at the Dhivehi Language Academy. His work in the fields of literature, linguistics and education is astounding. He started his career in the government on May 29, 1952 as a clerk at the printing press.
In addition to his immense contributions in the fields of literature and linguistics, Abdulla Sodiq is also an outstanding litterateur. He published numerous literacy works on the usage guidelines of the Dhivehi language, in addition to poetry and lyrics.
Abdulla Sodiq is also noted for his contributions in the field of historical research, teaching and tutoring. He served longest in the government at the then Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research. He has been in service of the centre for the past 30 years.