Gayoom - Maldives - President Gayoom is Asia's longest-serving leader. He was re-elected for a record sixth five-year term in 2003, having first taken office in 1978. The Maldives has been relatively stable under his rule, despite attempted coups in the 1980s. The country aims to hold its first multi-party elections by the end of 2008. Parliament voted to introduce a multi-party democracy in 2005; previously, political parties had been banned, although there had been no official ban on political activity. President Gayoom had come under growing pressure, with human rights groups accusing him of running an autocratic state and unprecedented anti-government violence flaring in the streets. Maldivian presidents are chosen in a yes-no referendum; voters are presented with a single candidate chosen by the Majlis, or parliament. Under the current system, the president has great influence and appoints members of the cabinet and the judiciary. The president also appoints eight of the 50 Majlis members. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was born in Male in 1937 and was educated in Sri Lanka and Egypt. He served as transport minister under President Ibrahim Nasir.