Just over a month after a cabinet reshuffle, president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom appointed a new home minister on Monday.

President Yameen had named his finance minister as the new vice president last month which prompted a a cabinet reshuffle which followed the resignation of the then home minister Umar Naseer.

Sports minister Ahmed Zuhoor has been named as the new home minister.

In a sudden decision on Monday, Yameen appointed little known deputy education minister Azleen Ahmed as the home minister and transferred Zuhoor to the minister at the President's Office.

The reason behind the president's decision is unclear.