Mohamed Abdirizak Mohamud is a Somalian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and the former

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

for

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

. He is currently serving as the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Somalia since 12 August 2022.

Political Career

The first major time Mohamud introduced himself into the Somali political landscape was in 2017, when he ran to be

President of Somalia The president of Somalia ( so, Madaxaweynaha Soomaaliya) 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 Somal ...

, in which he did not succeed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

On 19 November 2020, Mohamud was appointed to become the new Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia by then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Mohamed Hussein Roble Mohamed Hussein Roble ( so, Maxamed Xuseen Rooble; born February 1968) is a Somali politician who was the prime minister of Somalia from 23 September 2020. to 25 June 2022. Background He was born in Hobyo in February 1968. He received a BSc ...

, and on 25 November was officially sworn in. Three days later on 28 November, Mohamud took over the responsibilities of the job from his predecessor Ahmed Isse Awad. As Minister, Mohamud was regarded as an "outspoken" political figure, conducting multiple meetings and talks with Somalia's allies, most notably including the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of member states of the African Union, 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling fo ...

, China,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. On 20 November 2021, Mohamud was replaced as minister with

Abdisaid Muse Ali Abdisaid Muse Ali is a Somali politician and was the National Security Advisor to the President of Somalia from 2017 to 2021, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia to from 2021 to 2022. Ali was forced to leave office after he was suspe ...

in a cabinet reshuffle by PM Roble. Mohamud remarked that the unannounced dismissal was a "surprise to me, as much as everyone else" but also stated that he had already submitted his resignation from the office earlier. Mohamud cited that "work-related issues" may have been the reason for his untimely departure from office, but failed to specify what these were in hopes that they would be resolved. It was reported by MTV Somali that the issues may have stemmed from Mohamud being too close to President

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ( so, Maxaamed Cabdullaahii Maxaamed, ar, محمد عبدالله محمد; born 11 March 1962), also known as Farmaajo, is a Somali politician who served as president of Somalia from 2017 to 2022. He was prime minist ...

who PM Roble often disagreed with.

Post Foreign Minister Career

Campaigning

In January 2022, Mohamud campaigned to be elected to a seat in the House of the People in the

Somali Parliament The Federal Parliament of Somalia ( so, Golaha Shacabka Soomaaliya; often ''Baarlamaanka Federaalka Soomaaliya''; ar, البرلمان الاتحادي في الصومال) is the national parliament of Somalia. Formed in August 2012, it is ba ...

, especially in the

Puntland Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...

region, in which he had good relationships with. When this did not succeed, Mohamud in May 2022 announced he would be running to be the President of Somalia again, but quickly withdrew his application after stating that his campaign did "not have the potential to win". Mohamud further discussed that with the race for Somali Presidency being indirect in nature, as long as his campaign focus was on speaking directly to the Somali people, he would not have a great chance at success. Despite this, Mohamud announced he would continue to run for high political offices in the nation in the future.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources

On 12 August 2022, Mohamed was successful in being elected as the next Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Somalia. As minister, Mohamed on 21 October 2022 helped finalize the signing of a large but controversial deal that had been in the works since February with the U.S.-based oil and gas company Coastline Exploration Limited ("Coastline"). In exchange for a US$7 million signature bonus to the

Central Bank of Somalia The Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) ( so, Bankiga Dhexe ee Soomaaliya, ar, البنك المركزي الصومالي) is the monetary authority of Somalia. Somalia has struggled to reestablish a functioning state since the collapse of an aut ...

, Coastline was allowed to move forward with its exploration program for new oil fields off the Somali coast.

References

{{s-end 21st-century Somalian politicians Foreign Ministers of Somalia Living people Year of birth missing (living people)