Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke (, ) (8 June 1919
/ref> – 15 October 1969), was the first

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

from 12 July 1960 to 14 June 1964 and the second

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

from 6 July 1967, until his assassination on October 15, 1969.Somalia
- ''Worldstatesmen.com''

Early years

Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was born in 1919 in the town of Harardhere 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 Somalia. His father was from the Osman Mohamud Majeerteen branch of the

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 and his mother from the Habar Gidir clan. Raised in

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

by his mother, Sharmarke attended Qur'anic schools and completed his elementary education in 1936. He then embarked on a career as a trader and later as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in the Italian colonial administration. In 1943, the year of its inauguration, Sharmarke joined the incipient

Somali Youth League The Somali Youth League (SYL, , Arabic: رابطة الشباب الصومالي, or ''Lega Somala della Gioventù''), initially known as the Somali Youth Club (SYC), was the first political party in Somalia. It played a key role in the nati ...

political party. He entered the British administration's civil service the following year. While still a civil servant, Sharmarke completed his secondary education in 1953. He earned a scholarship to study at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

, where he obtained a BA in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

.Europa Publications Limited, p.970. In 1960, his son,

Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke (; , ) (born 18 June 1960), popularly known as Omar Sharmarke, is a Somali diplomat and politician. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Prime Minister of Somalia. He subsequently briefly served as Somalia Somalia, ...

, who would later become Prime Minister of the Somali

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 ...

, was born.

Political career

After returning from his studies abroad in

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 ...

in 1959, Sharmarke was elected to the Legislative Assembly. On 26 June 1960,

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

gained independence as the

State of Somaliland Somaliland, officially the State of Somaliland (), was an independent country in the territory of the present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland, which regards itself as its legal successor. It existed on the territory of former ...

. On 1 July 1960, the State of Somaliland and the

Trust Territory of Somaliland The Trust Territory of Somaliland, officially the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian Administration (), was a United Nations Trust Territory from 1950 to 1960, following the dissolution of the former British Military Administration. I ...

(previously

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 ...

) united to form 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 ...

. (The anniversaries of both events are now celebrated on the Independence Day of Somalia as a public holiday in

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

and

). On 1 July 1960, with the creation of the

, the then-incumbent President Aden Abdullah Osman Daar appointed Sharmarke

Prime Minister of Somalia The prime minister of Somalia () is the head of government of Somalia. There have been 22 official prime ministers since the office was created in 1956. The first prime minister was Abdullahi Issa, who served prior to independence in the Trus ...

. Sharmarke's duties as Prime Minister saw him travel abroad extensively in pursuit of a non-aligned and neutral foreign policy. He remained Prime Minister until March 1964, when the first general elections were held and which saw him re-elected as a member of Parliament. In the 1967 presidential elections, Sharmarke beat out Daar to become the second

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 ...

. He was sworn into office on July 6, 1967.

Assassination

In 1968, Sharmarke narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. A grenade exploded near the car that was transporting him back from the airport, but failed to kill him.Colin Legum, John Drysdale, Africa contemporary record: annual survey and documents, Volume 2, (Africa Research Limited., 1970), p.B-174. On 15 October 1969, while paying an official visit to the northern town of

Las Anod Las Anod (; ) is the administrative capital of the Sool region, currently controlled by Khatumo State forces aligned with Somalia. Territorial dispute The city is disputed by Puntland and Somaliland. The former bases its claim due to the kins ...

, Sharmarke was gunned down by one of his own bodyguards.Moshe Y. Sachs, ''Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations'', Volume 2, (Worldmark Press: 1988), p.290. On duty outside the guest house where the president was staying, the officer fired an

automatic rifle An automatic rifle is a type of Self-loading rifle, autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic firearm, automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally selective fire, select-fire weapons capable of firing in Semi-automatic firearm, semi ...

in close range at Sharmarke, killing him instantly. Observers suggested that the assassination was inspired by personal rather than political motives. Sharmarke's assassination was quickly followed by a military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

on 21 October 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition; essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, who at the time commanded the army.

Notes

References

* * Mohamed Haji Ingiriis (2017) Who Assassinated the Somali President in October 1969? The Cold War, the Clan Connection, or the Coup d’État, African Security, 10:2, 131–154, DOI: 10.1080/19392206.2017.1305861 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharmarke, Abdirashid Ali 1919 births 1969 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Somalia Assassinated Somalian politicians Leaders ousted by a coup 20th-century presidents of Somalia People murdered in Somalia Deaths by firearm in Somalia Sapienza University of Rome alumni Somali Youth League politicians People from Mudug Somali independence activists Politicians assassinated in 1969 National presidents assassinated in the 20th century 20th-century presidents in Africa 20th-century Somalian politicians Assassinated presidents in Africa Members of the Somali National Assembly

Early years

Political career

Assassination

See also

Notes

References