Abdirisak Khalif Ahmed () is a

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 ...

politician, who was formerly the speaker of Somaliland's Lower House of Parliament (

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

). He previously served as Somaliland's Minister of Commerce during the Siilaanyo administration. During the 2021 Somaliland parliamentary election Abdirisak, from the main opposition party Waddani, won the first round of voting with 42 votes, beating his competitor Yasin Haji Mohamoud Hiir aka "''Faratoon''", from the ruling Kulmiye party, who had 39 votes. In June 2023, Abdirisak resigned as the speaker of the House of Representatives and defected to the SSC-Khatumo Administration, which sought to rejoin Somalia as an autonomous state amid the Las Anod conflict. Abdirisak had been sent to the region to help negotiate a resolution to the fighting but sided with the SSC-Khatumo's leaders and accused the Somalilander military of committing war crimes, for which a legal prosecution was launched against Abdirisak by the Somalilander attorney general. He is the highest ranking Somalilander to defect during the conflict.

Overview

Abdirisak Khalif Ahmed was born in 1967 in

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 ...

. He completed his primary education in Las Anod and later moved to

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 ...

for further studies.

References

1967 births Living people 21st-century Somaliland politicians Government ministers of Somaliland Speakers of the House of Representatives (Somaliland) {{somaliland-politician-stub

Overview

See also

References