Qamar Aden Ali (, ) (b. 19 September 1957 – d. 3 December 2009) was a Somali

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. She was assassinated whilst serving as the Minister of Health in the

Transitional Federal Government The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) (, , ) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Somalia from 14 October 2004 until 20 August 2012. It was established in Nairobi, Kenya, following the Transitional National Govern ...

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 ...

Biography

Qamar was born on 19 September 1957 in a small village outside of

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 ...

, the capital of Somalia. She was the third of 11 children. Qamar spent her childhood in Mogadishu, where she also went to school and graduated from college. She subsequently moved abroad to

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

to study

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, and later studied law in England. She eventually passed the bar as a lawyer and became a British citizen. In the mid-1990s, Qamar returned to her native Somalia, where she later joined the nation's

. From 2007 until her death, she served as the national Minister of Health.

Assassination

On 3 December 2009, Qamar, along with Minister of Education Ahmed Abdulahi Waayeel and Minister of Higher Education

Ibrahim Hassan Addow Ibrahim Hassan Adow (, ) (died December 3, 2009) was a Somali scholar and politician. He was the dean of Benadir University. Adow became the head of the Foreign Affairs department for Islamic Courts Union as it rose to power during the early ...

, was killed in a suicide bombing at the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu. They had been attending a

Benadir University Benadir University (BU) (, ), also known as the University of Benadir, is a private university located in Mogadishu, Somalia. History Benadir University was founded in October 2002 as a medical school A medical school is a tertiary educati ...

graduation ceremony, while the male bomber had passed through security dressed as a woman in an Islamic

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

. The bombing was subsequently called a "national disaster" by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (, ; born 25 July 1965) is a Somali politician who served as the 7th President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. Before his presidency, he became the Chairman of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from 2004 to 2007 and the A ...

. Qamar spoke to her brother, Mohamed Aden Ali, several hours before the attack. She had been attempting to convince him to return to Somalia for the new doctors programme. Following her death, he decided to continue Qamar's plans, saying "The legacy of my sister will go on, we will not stop. Let them know: The people of Somalia, they are ready to die, they are courageous people. We will never stop to give service to our people."

Legacy

There is a school named in her honour and this was to be renovated in 2018 as announced by the Somali Minister

Deqa Yasin Deqa Yasin Hagi Yusuf is a Human Rights advocate and Social Justice activist, specifically in the areas of gender equality, women's empowerment, disability, children and minority rights. In 2017 she was appointed the Minister for Women and Human R ...

in November 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Qamar Aden 2009 deaths Deaths by explosive device Terrorism deaths in Somalia Assassinated Somalian politicians People assassinated by the Al-Shabaab (militant group) Health ministers of Somalia People murdered in Somalia Somalian murder victims 1957 births Women government ministers of Somalia 21st-century Somalian women politicians 21st-century Somalian politicians 2009 murders in Somalia African politicians assassinated in the 2000s Politicians assassinated in 2009 Assassinated government ministers in Africa