Abdiqasim Salad Hassan (; ; born on 1 January 1942), also known as Abdiqasim Salad, is a Somali politician who served as the fifth

President of Somalia The president of Somalia () is the head of state of Somalia. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Somali Armed Forces. The president represents the Federal Republic of Somalia, and the unity of the Somali nation, as well as ensuri ...

from 2000 to 2004. He helped found the

Transitional National Government The Transitional National Government (TNG) was the internationally recognized central government of Somalia from 2000 to 2004. Overview The TNG was established in 20 April–5 May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference held in Arta, Djibo ...

and previously served as Minister of Interior in the government of

Siad Barre Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...

Biography

Hassan was born in the town of Galdogob, situated in the north-central

Mudug Mudug () is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north-central Somalia. The population of Mudug is 131,455 as of 2005. Overview Physiographically, Mudug is bordered to the west by Ethiopia, to the north and south by the Somali regions of Nu ...

region of the former

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

. His family hails from the Habar Gidir sub-clan of the Gorgaarte

Hawiye The Hawiye (; ) are one of the principal and largest of the Somali clans, tracing their lineage back to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Uthman, also known as Sheikh Hawiye, the eponymous figure of the clan. They are considered the earliest do ...

. Hassan pursued his post-secondary education in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, graduating in 1965 from the Biology Department of

Lomonosov Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

Political career

Early career

A key founder of Somalia's ''Sulh'' (reconciliation) group of which former Foreign Minister Abdirahman Jama Barre was also a part, Hassan has held several important positions in the Somali government, most notably as Siad Barre's last Minister of Interior from 1990 to 1991. As such, Hassan was responsible for all internal security agencies including the National Security Service (NSS), the Investigative Department of the

Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP, , XHKS, , ) was the ruling party of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1976 to 1991. History SRSP was created by the military regime of Siad Barre under Soviet guidance. A founding congress ...

, the police, and the Deputy Prime Ministership. Additionally, Hassan was the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia in the late 1980s. Abdirahman Jama Barre served opposite him as the 1st Deputy Prime Minister. After the Barre's administration's ouster in 1991 and the start of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in Somalia, Hassan left for

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

President of Somalia

In 2000, the

(TNG) was established as Somalia's new interim central government. On August 26, Hassan presented himself as a candidate in that year's elections for a new TNG President. He received 145 of the total votes, with former Somalia ambassador to Washington Abdullahi Ahmed Addou earning 92 votes on the third ballot. Hassan was sworn into office the following day. Hassan's administration controlled parts of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with the rest of the southern half of the country under the control of various faction leaders. Shortly before the mandate of the Transitional National Government expired in August 2003, Hassan withdrew from talks aimed at forming a new government. Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah accused him of trying to make the negotiations fail to extend his time in office. This resulted in Farah's dismissal by Hassan. In 2004, Hassan ran for re-election in that year's presidential race. On October 10, 2004, in a session held by the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP),

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (, ‎; 15 December 1934 – 23 March 2012), was a Somali politician and former military official who served as the first President of Puntland from 1998 to 2004. He also played a key role in establishing the Transitional ...

was elected as President of the

Transitional Federal Government The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) (, , ) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Somalia from 14 October 2004 until 20 August 2012. It was established in Nairobi, Kenya, following the Transitional National Govern ...

(TFG), a successor interim body to the TNG that Ahmed had helped establish earlier in the year. Ahmed received 189 votes from the TFG Parliament, while the closest contender, Abdullahi Ahmed Addou, got 79 votes in the third round of voting. Hassan peacefully withdrew his candidature.

Personal life

During the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, Hassan lived in Mogadishu. His home was raided by Ethiopian and TFG troops during 2007 and 2008. Since the end of his term as President, Hassan has rallied for a safer Somalia. He takes part in numerous events in and around Somalia where he talks to his fellow countrymen about how they can change their nation for the better. He now divides his time between Somalia and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Abdiqasim Salad 1941 births Living people People from Mudug 20th-century presidents of Somalia Moscow State University alumni Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party politicians Interior ministers of Somalia Deputy prime ministers of Somalia 21st-century presidents of Somalia