Bashe Awil Haji Omar (born 1972 in

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

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 ...

) is a diplomat and politician. He served as the Somaliland Representative to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

(2015-2018) and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

(2018-2021) as President of the Somaliland Liaison Office.

Background

Omar was born in 1972 in

, and belongs to the

Imran Imran, also transliterated as Emran ( ''ʿImrān'') is an Arabic name. The name Imran is found in the Quranic chapter called Family of ʿImrān (''āl ʿImrān''). It may refer to: Given name * Imran, father of Mary in the Quran: see Joachim ( ...

clan of the wider

Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend ...

clan-family. In 1991, following the outbreak of the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

, he moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In 1997, Omar graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. Omar received a scholarship to attend

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

where he graduated with an MSc in

Petrochemistry Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable s ...

and Hydrocarbons Chemistry. During his residence in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, he got involved with mobilization for Kulmiye, a political party founded by his father-in-law,

Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (, ; 1 June 1938 – 15 November 2024), known by his nickname Silanyo (), was a Somaliland politician who served as the President of Somaliland from 2010 to 2017. During the 1980s, he also served as the Chairman of the ...

. in 2011, Omar and his family moved to

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya. On 30 June 2015, Omar was appointed as the new Ambassador of Somaliland to the United Arab Emirates where he served from 2015 to 2018. In 2018, President Musa Bihi Abdi appointed Omar as Somaliland Representative to Kenya and President of the Somaliland Liaison Office in Nairobi. Upon assumption of the office in Nairobi, Omar has organised two major conferences between Somaliland and Kenya focusing on infrastructure and energy in 2018 and 2019.Investors to benefit from Kenya and Somaliland ties
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References

Living people 1972 births Peace, Unity, and Development Party politicians People from Hargeisa 21st-century Somaliland politicians 21st-century diplomats {{somaliland-politician-stub