Dahir Riyale Kahin (, ; born 12 March 1952) is a Somaliland politician who was

President of Somaliland The president of the Republic of Somaliland (; ) is the head of state and head of government of Somaliland. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Somaliland Armed Forces. The president represents the Government of Somaliland. The f ...

from 2002 to 2010. He previously served as a senior officer in the National Security Service in

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 ...

, and he was

Vice President of Somaliland The vice president of Somaliland () is the deputy head of state of Somaliland and the second highest official next to the president. The vice president is the constitutional successor of the president of Somaliland in case of a vacancy. List of ...

from 1997 to 2002

Personal life

Kahin was born in the town of

Quljeed Quljeed is a town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. It is notable for being the birthplace of Dahir Riyale Kahin, the 3rd President of Somaliland. Overview Quljeed is situated about 30 km to the northwest of Borama. Ciabarri, ''Dopo ...

, situated in the northwestern

Awdal Awdal (, ) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly province of Somaliland. To the e ...

region of

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 ...

. He hails from the Jibreel Younis sub-clan of the

Gadabuursi The Gadabuursi (Somali language, Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic language, Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic language, Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir ...

clan. He was educated in Amoud, and was later trained 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 ...

Career

Early career

Kahin's previous posts included a

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

ic position at the Somali Embassy in Djibouti. In the last years of the

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 Janu ...

government, during the 1980s, Kahin was the highest-ranking National Security Service (NSS) officer in

Berbera Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of t ...

.Human Rights Watch (Organization), Chris Albin-Lackey, ''Hostages to peace: threats to human rights and democracy in Somaliland'', (Human Rights Watch: 2009), p.13. He was stationed in Las Anod in 1981 to 1982. From 1997 to 2002, Kahin served as the

President of Somaliland

On 3 May 2002, Kahin became the third

, after the death of the self-declared republic's President

Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal (, ; August 15, 1928 – May 3, 2002) was a Somali politician who served as the president of Somaliland from 1993 to his death in 2002. He previously served as the prime minister of the State of Somaliland between 26 ...

. Kahin later won the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

on 14 April 2003, representing the Ururka Dimuqraadiga Umada Bahawday (UDUB), or United Democratic People's Party. He was sworn into office on 16 May, the day after Egal's funeral. In 2008, Kahin established by decree new regions and districts, which drew criticism. Regions and districts in Somaliland are not just an instrument for the organisation of local government, they are also used as electoral districts. Kahin's move was considered by several to have motives rooted in electoral and clan-politics. Moreover, as these new regions and districts were never geographically delimitated, they argued that he saddled the region with a legacy that hampers the efficient organisation of local government to this day.See
Somaliland Local Government Re‐organisation through Presidential Decrees in an Election Year
by Ibrahim Hashi Jama, Somalilandlaw.com, 7 April 2008. Accessed on 5 February 2015. Throughout his tenure as President of Somaliland, Kahim sought to maintain peace and tranquility in the region. His administration contributed to various state-building and institutional development initiatives. In terms of democratization, his government also successfully organized local council elections, parliamentary elections, and two presidential elections. Additionally, Kahin is noted for having peacefully transferred power to his successor in office, President

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 ...

References

External links

(Brief history of Somaliland)
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahin, Dahir Rayale 1952 births 21st-century presidents of Somaliland 21st-century Somaliland politicians Gadabuursi Living people People from Awdal United Peoples' Democratic Party politicians Vice presidents of Somaliland