Abdulrahman Ghani or Abdulrahman Qani (, ) is the chieftain of the Talomoge sub-clan of the

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

Somali. He is the former President of the

Somali Region The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

(April - November 1994).

Career

When he was named President of the Somali Region, Abdulrahman was director of the

Relief and Rehabilitation Commission The Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) is an Ethiopian government agency that was set up in Addis Ababa in the aftermath of the 1973 drought. It played a central role in bringing the 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia to the public's attentio ...

branch in Gode. He became President of the Somali Region in an inauguration which some critics considered "somewhat irregular"."Peace and Unity Conference of the Somali Nation of Region 5"
UNDP Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia report, dated 15 November 1994 (accessed 13 May 2009) His predecessor,

Hassan Jire Kalinle Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

, was removed by the Federal Government in April 1994 on charges of corruption and neglect of official duties, although at least one observer believes the actual reason was due to the Regional Assembly voting to exercise the "right to self-determination" in the

1995 Constitution of Ethiopia The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (), also known as the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, is the supreme law of Ethiopia. The constitution came into force on 21 August 1995 after it was drawn up by the Constituent Asse ...

. Although a member of Ogaden clansman, he was supported by the other clans because he was not a member of the ONLF. During his brief tenure, he was seen as a committed enemy of the

al-Itihaad al-Islamiya Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI; ) was an Islamist politico-military group in Somalia. Formed in 1983 through a merger of smaller Islamist groups, the organization was the most powerful Islamic movement in the country during the late 80s and early ...

, a now-defunct militant Islamic group based in the

and parts 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 ...

, because he worked closely with the

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; ) was an ethnic federalist political coalition in Ethiopia that existed from 1989 to 2019. It consisted of four political parties: Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara ...

during their early operations against the movement. He was deposed by a group within the Regional Executive committee (an action which ''A''bdulrahman described as "unconstitutional" and "a coup"), and petitioned the Federal Government to overturn his removal, which denied his request. After his dismissal the executive committee, led by Abdulrahman's former deputy, Ahmed Makahil, and supported by the committee's Executive Secretary, Iid Tahir Farah, assumed administration of the Region until Iid Tahir Farah became president the following year. In 1995, fighting between the Abdalla and the Awlihan Somali over land rights in

Adadle Adadle is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gode Zone, Adadle is bordered on the west by the Afder Zone, on the north by the Shebelle River which separates it from Gode, on the east by Kelafo, and on the south by ...

, became so violent that the UNHCR and NGOs found it difficult to hand out food to internally displaced people living in the woreda. To end the fighting, Abdulrahman made the decision to move the Awlihan subclan to Bohol Hagere, despite protests by his subclan elders.Ayele Gebre-Mariam
''The Critical Issue of Land Ownership: Violent Conflict Between Abdalla Tolomogge and Awlihan in Godey Zone, Somali Region of Ethiopia''
Working Paper No. 2 (Bern: NCCR North-South, 2005), p. 46 In 2005, Abdulrahman was one of a dozen elders seeking to arrange peace talks between the

Ogaden National Liberation Front The Ogaden National Liberation Front, abbreviated ONLF, (, JWXO; ) is a Somali nationalist armed and political organization seeking self-determination for the Somali-inhabited Ogaden (Somali region) of eastern Ethiopia. Founded in 1984 by forme ...

and the Ethiopian government. He afterwards left Ethiopia and lived abroad for two years."Ethiopia: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: Sixth session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council, November-December 2009"
Amnesty International Report AFR 25/004/2009, 13 April 2009 (accessed 13 May 2009) Shortly after returning to his home city of

Gode Gode (, ) is a city in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Shabelle Zone, the city was the capital of the Somali Region until 1995 when Jijiga became the capital Gode Airport, also known as the Ugas Mirad Airport (IATA code GDE) ...

in July 2008, Abdulrahman was arrested by the Ethiopian government. Over the following days, a further 70 individuals were also arrested. No charges are believed to have been brought against them and no reason given for their detention. Abdulrahman was released that October, and his relatives a few days later.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abd Ghani, Abdulrahman 20th-century births Living people Presidents of Somali Region Ethiopian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Ethiopia People from Somali Region Ethiopian people of Somali descent 20th-century Ethiopian politicians Year of birth missing (living people)