Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed ( Somali : Cabdulaahi Yuusuf Axmed , born December 15, 1934 in Gaalkacyo , Mudug , Somalia ; † March 23, 2012 in Dubai , United Arab Emirates ) was President of the Somali Transitional Government from 2004 to 2008 . He was a member of the Darod - clan .

Before that, he had been president of the de facto autonomous Puntland since 1998 , which he himself had declared independent.

Life

After studying law, he made a career in the military. From 1965 to 1968 he was a military attaché in Moscow. Since he did not support General Siad Barre's successful coup in 1969 , he was imprisoned until 1975. In prison he met the future warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid . After his release from prison, he was allowed to continue his military career and fought in the Ogaden War against Ethiopia from 1977 to 1978 .

Then Yusuf founded the guerrilla movement “ Somali Democratic Redemption Front ”, which had the goal of disempowering Siad Barre. He sought the support of Ethiopia, but was arrested in 1985 after a dispute in Ethiopia and only released after the fall of Barres in 1991. In the Somali civil war that had now broken out , he emerged as a leader when he declared his home region of Puntland independent in 1998 and was elected president. In 2001 parliament wanted to replace him with Jama Ali Jama , but Yusuf was able to forcibly recapture power.

Presidency

After peace talks in 2000, an internationally recognized interim government for Somalia was formed, which, however, was not accepted by all warring parties and was therefore initially based in neighboring Kenya . Abdikassim Salat Hassan became president . In 2004 the transitional government was formed and the transitional parliament in Nairobi , Kenya elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as new president. He was sworn in on October 14, 2004. At the end of 2004 he put together his cabinet, which also contained some leading warlords.

The president promised to promote reconciliation and rebuild the country. But his government was weakened by internal contradictions. In particular, Yusuf fell out with some warlords over where the administration should be located. Since the Somali capital Mogadishu was ruled by rival militias of the Hawiye clan , the transitional government was finally stationed partly in Baidoa and partly in Jawhar .

In 2006 the Union of Islamic Courts took Mogadishu and other parts of the country. Their fighters also turned against the transitional government, which left Jawhar because of this and was further harassed by the Union in Baidoa. After the Union was ousted at the beginning of 2007, the interim government tried to establish itself in Mogadishu for the first time. However, it met with considerable resistance from Islamists and other opponents. In 2008 there were also differences between Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and his allied Mohammed Omar Habeb Dhere on the one hand and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein on the other.

By the end of 2008, the transitional government had practically disintegrated, and Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was increasingly being accused of worsening differences and hampering the peace process. On December 29, 2008, he therefore announced his resignation in front of the interim parliament and announced that the parliamentary speaker would take over his official duties.

Web links

Commons : Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed  - on the news

• BBC News: Profile: Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Somalia: Former President Dies in Dubai Hospital .
2. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Somalia: To Move Beyond the Failed State . ) International Crisis Group
3. ^ Kenya moves against Somali leader . BBC News
4. ^ Crisis: Head of State of Somalia resigned . FOCUS Online