She succeeds Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma of India. A former Attorney- General of the Republic of Maldives and former parliamentarian,,Ms. Saeed is the tenth Secretary-General of SAARC. She is the first woman to occupy this prestigious post.
She was serving as Maldivian Governments Envoy for South Asia before assuming the post of Secretary- General of SAARC. She holds a Master’s Degree in Law from Osaka University Japan.
The Secretary-General of SAARC is appointed upon nomination by a Member State on the basis of rotation in alphabetical order for a period of three years. The thirty-third Session of SAARC Council of Ministers held in Thimphu on 8-9th February 2011 had appointed Ms. Saeed.