Abdirahman Jama Barre (, ; 1937 – 15 August 2017) was a Somali politician. He twice served as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

of the

Somali Democratic Republic The Somali Democratic Republic (; , ; ) was a socialist state in Somalia that existed from 1969 to 1991. Established in October 1969, the Somali Democratic Republic emerged following a 1969 Somali coup d'état, coup d'état led by Major General ...

, also he was the longest serving Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia, and later as the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

. He was the first Deputy Prime Minister of

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Early and Personal life

Abdirahman Jama Barre was born in 1937 in the southern town of

Luuq Luuq (, , ) is a city in the southwestern Gedo province of Somalia. It is one of the older settlements in the area. It is the seat of the Luuq District. The town is located in a bend of the Ganana River, where the watercourse flows down from n ...

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 ...

. He hails from the

Marehan The Marehan (, ) is a Somali clan, which is part of one of the largest Somali clan families, the Darod. The clan are the largest tribe in the Jubaland state and make the majority of the Gedo, Middle Juba and Lower Juba states, some major cities ...

Darod The Darod (, ) is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan is Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as Darod. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripheries, the Somali hinterlands adjacent ...

clan. He was a cousin of former

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 ...

Mohamed 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 Ja ...

. His brother, "Asasey", was also active in Somali politics. Barre pursued higher studies abroad. For his tertiary education, he earned a PhD in the early 1960s from the teaching faculty at the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Barre was married, and had seven children. He had eight children from his first marriage. He enjoyed

lawn tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Career

Barre began his professional career upon graduation from university. Initially, he briefly served as a headmaster. In 1960, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the

Somali Republic The Somali Republic (; ; ) was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (formerly Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland). A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad ...

's early civilian administration. He received his first diplomatic post the same year, working as a counsellor until 1964. Barre was concurrently promoted to Director of the ministry's Economic and Social Department as well as Director-General of its Social Department. He served as such for the next four years. Between 1969 and 1970, he was also the Acting Director-General of both departments. Following the bloodless 1969 coup d'état, Barre was named Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the new ruling Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) in 1970. He subsequently became a member 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 ...

(SSRP) in 1976, sitting on the political association's Central Committee. In July 1977, Barre was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. He represented the

in this capacity at the United Nations General Assembly. Along with then Foreign Minister of Ethiopia Foreign Minister of Ethiopia

Goshu Wolde Goshu Wolde (, born 1942) is a former Ethiopian Foreign Minister and worked as minister of education, of Ethiopia from 1983 to 1986. Wolde, formerly a foreign minister under Mengistu, resigned the Mengistu government in 1986, by sending his resi ...

, Jama Barre was also part of a seven-person Somalia-Ethiopia committee. The intergovernmental panel was formed in 1986. Toward the end of 1987, Barre was appointed the 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia.

Abdiqassim Salad Hassan 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 from 2000 to 2004. He helped found the Transitional National Government and previously serv ...

served alongside him as the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister. Jama was concurrently named Minister of Finance and Treasury. In 1989, he was reappointed Foreign Minister, with his second term in the office lasting a year. He would hold both 1st Deputy Prime and Finance Minister positions until the collapse of the central government in January 1991. Barre was part of the governmental Suhl (Reconciliation) group, of which Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, who would go on to become President of Somalia, was a key founder. In 2004, following the establishment 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 ...

, Barre presented himself as a candidate for President of Somalia. He lost out to then President of the autonomous

Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...

region,

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 ...

Notes

References

Foreign ministers S-Z - Somalia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barre, Abdirahman Jama 1937 births 2017 deaths Ethnic Somali people Finance ministers of Somalia Ministers of foreign affairs of Somalia University of Padua alumni People from Gedo

Early and Personal life

Career

See also

Notes

References