Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame (born March 22 1964 ) is a Somali politician and a constitutional expert. He is currently the leader of the Wadajir Party. He served as a member of the Somali Parliament from 2009 to 2010, and as the Minister of Planning and International relations under President

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (, ; born 25 July 1965) is a Somali politician who served as the 7th President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. Before his presidency, he became the Chairman of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from 2004 to 2007 and the ...

between 2009 and 2010. He contested in the 2017 Somali presidential elections against

Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (, ; born March 11, 1962), also known as Farmaajo, is a Somali politician who served as president of Somalia from 2017 to 2022. He was prime minister of Somalia for six months, from November 2010 to June 2011. Mohame ...

. Warsame was one of the most prominent opposition politicians in Somalia, and a fierce critic of the Farmajo administration, in 2017–2022.

Early life and education

Abdirahman Abdishakur was born in Bulobarde town in

Hiiraan Hiran (, ) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in central Somalia and part of the Hirshabelle State. Overview Hiran is bordered by the Somali Region of Ethiopia (or the 1908 Convention Line) to the northwest, the Somali provinces of Galgu ...

region on March 22 1964 He is from the

Habar Gidir The Habar Gidir (Somali: Habar Gidir, Arabic: هبر جدر) is a major subclan of the Hawiye. The clan has produced some prominent Somali figures, including the first Prime Minister of Somalia Abdullahi Issa Mohamud, and Somalia's fifth Preside ...

Family Hawiye He completed his primary and secondary education in Bulobarde, before receiving a

Bachelor of Law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

International University of Africa The International University of Africa () is a private university in Khartoum, Sudan. It is a member of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World. The university has faculties of Education and Humanities, Shariah and Islamic Studie ...

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, Specialising in Comparative Law, in 1997. He received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

, Specialised in Constitutions Law, from the

National University of Malaysia The National University of Malaysia (, abbreviated as UKM) is a public research university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), ...

in 2002.

Career

He was imam of

Finsbury Park Mosque The Finsbury Park Mosque, also known as the North London Central Mosque, is a five-storey mosque located next to Finsbury Park station close to Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club's Emirates Stadium, in the London Borough of Islington. It serve ...

, taking over when Abu Hamza was arrested. Before joining politics, Warsame helped found the Somali Concern Group and the Somali Diaspora Conference. He was the executive director of Muslim Welfare Centre, the third largest centre in the United Kingdom, between 2004 and 2007. He was editor in chief of ''Goobjoog News Online'' and a deputy chief editor with ''Hiral Magazine'' in London. He is a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). He was the chief negotiator representing the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia during the Somali reconciliations held in Djibouti between 2008 and 2009, which ultimately led to the formation of the Transitional Federal Government. On 24 May 2022, Warsame was appointed Special Envoy for Drought and Climate Change by President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud (Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud).

Public service

In 2009, Warsame became a member of the Somali Parliament. He was appointed the Minister of Planning and International Relations of the transition government in the same year. While holding this position, Warsame was part of several diplomatic successes achieved by Somalia. For the first time in 20 years, Somalia, represented by Warsame, chaired the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

Foreign Ministers’ annual Summit. He was the parliament's chief negotiator at the Kampala conference, at the end of which then Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan and President Sheikh Sharif signed the Kampala Accord, which resolved the dispute between the parliament and the executive. After the formation of the Federal Government of Somalia in 2012, Abdirahman became a policy advisor to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed. He was a leading member of the London conference. He also played a part in the agreement signed between the federal government and

Jubbaland Jubaland (; ; ), or the Juba Valley (), is a Federal Member State in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies no more than east of the Jubba River, stretching from Dolow to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern ...

. He served as a political adviser to two consecutive UN envoys to Somalia, Ambassador

Nicholas Kay Sir Nicholas Peter Kay (born 8 March 1958) is a British diplomat. He has served as the British ambassador to Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 2013 to 2016 he was the United Nations Special Representative for Som ...

and

Michael Keating Michael, Mike or Mickey Keating may refer to: Politics * Michael Keating (Irish politician) (born 1946), Fine Gael then Progressive Democrats TD from Dublin * Michael Keating (Manitoba politician) * Michael Keating (political scientist) (born 195 ...

Wadajir Party

Following long consultations that took place inside and outside the country, Warsame formed the Wadajir Party and became its presidential candidate in the 2017 Somalia presidential election. He was one of 20 candidates running for the country's presidency. After the election loss, Warsame did not leave the country like many of his fellow candidates, but remained in the country and continued to present his political philosophy and expanded the Wadajir Party. He gave numerous speeches and organised debates and seminars on state-building, democracy, as well on the shortcomings of the government, in accordance with the role of an opposition party.

Attack on Wadajir Party headquarters

On 17 December 2017, the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency attacked Warsame and other members of the Wadajir Party, killing five security members guarding the party headquarters and injuring four others, including Warsame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warsame, Abdirahman Abdishakur 1968 births Living people International University of Africa alumni National University of Malaysia alumni Planning ministers of Somalia