Mohamed Said Samantar "Ga'lie - Gacaliye" was a Somali politician.

Biography

He was born in Werder, and grew up in a town in eastern

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 ...

. While very young, he participated in the fight for his country's independence. In 1947 he joined the Somali Youth League, a movement opposing the British occupation. After attending normal school, he became an elementary teacher, then worked for BBC Somali and Radio Mogadishu and, in 1958, went to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he was placed in charge of RAI's Africa and Somali Service (Italian Radio Broadcasting and Television Company) broadcasts to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. While in Rome, he studied political science and in February 1964, he obtained his PhD in political science from

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

and joined the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

from 1964 to 1966, to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and the FAO (

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

) in Rome from 1969 to 1974, and to the French Government in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from 1974 to 1979. He was one of the main Somali architects and strategists for Djibouti's independence from France in 1977. He was later appointed minister of state at the presidency 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 ...

in 1979 and placed in charge of relations with the Western powers in a particularly touchy regional and international context involving the commitment of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

on behalf of

. He handed in his resignation in Paris in September 1981. He was a neutral figure at the onset of the Somali civil war, but later on he contributed to the founding of the SNF group and was in very good terms with many of the new Ethiopian leaders that took over after the demise of Mengistu's regime in May 1991, particularly with the then President Meles Ato Zenawi. He was among the very few decent Somali politicians, a voice of moderation and a lover and supporter of the arts and artists, before and during the Somali strife. He left behind many writings, poems and famous songs. He died on March 8, 1995, in Sceaux, France, after a long struggle against liver cancer and was buried at the Cimetière parisien de Thiais on March 13, 1995.

References

Somali Youth League politicians 1995 deaths Sapienza University of Rome alumni Ambassadors of Somalia to the European Economic Community Ambassadors of Somalia to Italy Somalian diplomats Ambassadors of Somalia to France Representatives of Somalia to the Food and Agriculture Organization 1928 births {{Somalia-politician-stub