Republic Day is a public holiday in the Maldives and celebrates the islands changing from a monarchy to a republic on 11th November 1968.
Independence came to the Maldives in July 1965 when an agreement was signed by the Maldives’ Prime Minister and the British Ambassador which ended the British responsibility for the defence and external affairs of the Maldives.
In November 1967, the Maldives parliament voted in favour of changing from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. A referendum took place on March 15th 1968, when over 80% of the voters chose to establish a republic, which was proclaimed the following year.
