Hassan Abshir Farah facts for kids

Hassan Abshir Farah (Somali: Xasan Abshir Faarax, Arabic: حسن ابشير فرح) was an important Somali politician. He was born on June 20, 1945, and passed away on July 12, 2020. He held many big jobs in Somalia.

He was the mayor of Mogadishu, which is the capital city. He also served as the interior minister for the Puntland region. From November 2001 to November 2003, he was the Prime Minister of Somalia. Later, he became a member of the Federal Parliament of Somalia.

About Hassan Abshir Farah

Hassan Abshir Farah was born in 1945 in what was then called Italian Somaliland. His family belonged to the Majeerteen group, which is part of the larger Darod clan.

He went to high school in Mogadishu from 1961 to 1965. After that, he studied at the Egyptian Military Academy in Cairo, Egypt, for two years. Later, from 1980 to 1986, he studied at the Somali National University. There, he earned a degree in Law.

His Journey in Politics

Mayor of Mogadishu

Hassan Abshir Farah started his political career in 1969. He joined the government when a military group took charge of Somalia. His first job was helping to run a district in Mogadishu.

In the 1970s, he became the mayor of Mogadishu. During this time, he also served as a governor in other regions like Shabeellaha Dhexe and Bakool. He even worked as Somalia's ambassador to Japan and Germany. As governor, he did not support the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), a group that was against the government at the time.

Interior Minister of Puntland

In December 1999, Hassan Abshir Farah became the Interior Minister of Puntland. This is a self-governing region in northeastern Somalia. He worked under the President of Puntland, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.

During this time, he made a decision to ask three workers from aid organizations (NGOs) to leave. He said their services were not good enough. These organizations included the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNICEF.

Prime Minister of the Transitional National Government

Hassan Abshir Farah became the Prime Minister of Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG). He held this position from November 12, 2001, until December 8, 2003.

In December 2003, the parliament decided that he and the speaker of parliament should no longer be in their roles. This decision was made through a special vote.

A few months after the September 11 attacks in 2001, he mentioned that the United States would be welcome to send troops to Somalia. This would be to help watch for groups that caused trouble in the country. However, the United States did not send any troops at that time.

He was the main person representing the TNG at a big meeting in Kenya in October 2002. This meeting was held to try and bring peace to Somalia. But these efforts did not lead to a lasting agreement.

Transitional Federal Government (TFG)

In 2004, Hassan Abshir Farah joined the new Transitional Federal Government (TFG). This government took over from the TNG. He became the Fisheries Minister and worked to help bring peace to Somalia.

In 2006, he signed a deal to help fight piracy with a security company. However, on August 1, 2006, he and seven other ministers resigned. They did this to protest a delay in talks with another group, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). He felt that postponing the talks would hurt efforts to bring people together.

Puntland Presidential Elections

In 2008, Hassan Abshir Farah tried to become the president of the Puntland region. However, Abdirahman Mohamud Farole was chosen as president in January 2009.

Federal Parliament

In August 2012, the Federal Government of Somalia was created. Hassan Abshir Farah then became a lawmaker in the new Federal Parliament of Somalia.

His Passing

Hassan Abshir Farah passed away in Turkey in 2020. He died from complications related to COVID-19.

See also

• Muhammad Ali Samatar
• Muse Hassan Sheikh Sayid Abdulle