Maldives President Ibrahim Solih: Reformer who must hold together a diverse coalition

Veteran Maldives lawmaker Ibrahim Mohamed Solih overcame the detention and exile of key opposition figures to win this year's presidential poll and unseat incumbent Abdulla Yameen, but now faces the task of holding together a disparate coalition.

The Maldives, a string of palm-fringed islands and atolls 325 miles (523 kilometres) southwest of the southern tip of India, is best known as a luxury holiday destination.

But the Muslim nation of fewer than half a million has suffered a turbulent transition to democracy since the end of three decades of authoritarian rule in 2008.

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The victory of Solih, who is known as a reformer, dislodged Yameen, a hardliner who had cultivated ties with both Beijing and Saudi Arabia, and cracked down on threats to his rule, even jailing his own half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

But Solih must now keep together a coalition that includes two fierce rivals, Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed, both former presidents.

Born in 1964 in Hinnavaru, Lhaviyani Atoll, Solih is popularly known as "Ibu".

Solih has been in the opposition since he first entered parliament, known as the People's Majlis, in 1994, except for a two-year spell under Nasheed, before the latter was ousted amid a police mutiny.

A close confidant of the former president and married to one of his cousins, Solih played a leading role in forming the Maldives Political Reform Movement from 2003 until 2008, which culminated in the adoption of a new constitution.

He was also part of the special parliament set up under Gayoom, who ruled the tropical islands for three decades until 2008, to write a new modern constitution for a multi-party democracy. He has led the opposition in parliament since 2011.

He led the MDP during protests in March 2015 after Nasheed's arrest for alleged terror offences, charges the opposition called politically motivated.

Friends say Solih has a calm temperament and is likely to champion democracy and freedom of expression.

He has already said he will seek to free all political prisoners, including Gayoom. He also wants to rework or scrap deals not made in the best interests of the Maldives, as well as restore ties with India, which could, in turn, strain relations with Beijing.

Soon after he took over last month, Solih said state coffers had been looted over the past few years and warned that the country was in financial difficulty after racking up debt with Chinese lenders.

Solih, on his recent trip to India, said the Maldives and India had signed agreements to cooperate on trade, health and defence. India would help improve Maldives' security through joint patrols as well as aerial surveillance, officials said.