Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal
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May 16, 1993 – May 3, 2002
Abdirahman Aw Ali Farrah (1995–1997)[2]
Dahir Riyale Kahin (1997–2002)
July 1, 1960 – July 12, 1960
July 15, 1967 – October 21, 1969
June 26, 1960 – July 1, 1960
Odweyne, British Somaliland (now Somaliland)
Pretoria, South Africa
Somali Youth League
(2) Asha Saeed Aabi
(3) Hawa Ainab
(4) Kaltum Haji Dahir
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President of Somaliland 1993-2002 Government
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Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal (Somali: Maxamed Xaaji Ibraahim Cigaal, Arabic: محمد حاجي إبراهيم عقال; 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 June and 1 July 1960 and as the first prime minister of the Somali Republic for eleven days in 1960 and again from 1967 to 1969.[3]
Life and education
Egal was born in 1928, in Odweyne then a part of British Somaliland. He hails from the Issa Musse sub-division of the Habar Awal clan of Isaaq.
He completed his primary, intermediate, and secondary education in former British Somaliland and then moved to the United Kingdom. Egal was married to Asha Saeed Abby, and together they had three sons and two daughters.
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Somaliland_Flying_for_the_first_time_The_White_and_Blue_Somali_Flag_at_the_Independence_Celebrations_on_26_June_1960.jpg/170px-Somaliland_Flying_for_the_first_time_The_White_and_Blue_Somali_Flag_at_the_Independence_Celebrations_on_26_June_1960.jpg)
Prime Minister of the State of Somaliland
On 26 June 1960, Egal was Prime minister of the newly independent State of Somaliland, which merged five days later with the former Trust Territory of Somalia to form the Somali Republic on July 1, 1960.
Government work
He served as the first Somali Republic's defence minister (1960–1962), Education Minister (1962–1963), Prime minister (1967–1969), and ambassador to India (1976–1978), although he was imprisoned twice under Barre dictatorship.
Prime Minister of the Somali Republic
In 1967, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was elected President and he appointed Egal as the Prime Minister.[4] The ascension Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal to the role of Prime Minister was reportedly in large part financed by thousands of dollars in covert support to him and other pro-Western elements in the ruling Somali Youth League party by the American Central Intelligence Agency.[5]
He was still the prime minister and in Washington, D.C., when President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated on October 15, 1969. Shortly afterward, the newly established Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) led by Major General Siad Barre, Brigadier General Mohamed Ainashe Gule, Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel seized power.[6] The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic,[7][8] arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties,[9] dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution.[10] Egal was among the politicians detained by the SRC for his prominent role in the nation's early government. He was eventually released and was named the Ambassador to India (1976-1978) before the Barre regime imprisoned him again on charges of conspiracy until 1985.
President of Somaliland
Egal managed to successfully disarm and rehabilitate rebel groups, stabilised the north western region and Economy of Somaliland, successfully managed to establish bilateral trade with foreign countries, introduce Somaliland new currency the Somaliland shilling, as well as the Somaliland passport and Somaliland national flag.
Throughout his term as president of the Republic of Somaliland, Egal's dedication to the secessionist cause was doubted and challenged by hardliners, particularly within the Somali National Movement (SNM), who believed that he still ultimately hoped to reconcile with other political actors in the rest of Somalia. In August 2001, Egal survived by one vote a motion tabled by several regional MPs charging him of half-heartedly pursuing separatism.[11] In an interview with IRIN the same year, SNM leader Abdirahman Awale also said of Egal that "when he says he is for independence, it is for local consumption only. He tells the people here one thing, but in his speeches elsewhere he has clearly declared that Somalia will unite one day. He says we will talk to the southerners when they make their home clean and
negotiate with them... He says one thing to the public, and a different thing to the international community."[12]
Death
Egal died on May 3, 2002, in Pretoria, South Africa while undergoing surgery at a military hospital. His body was returned to Somaliland for a state funeral, whereafter his three sons laid him to rest next to his father, in accordance with his last wishes. Around 4,000 mourners reportedly attended his burial in Berbera, and the regional parliament declared seven days of mourning. Dahir Rayale Kahin was sworn in the next day as the new president.[13]
References
- ^ Paquin, Jonathan (July 1, 2010). A Stability-Seeking Power: U.S. Foreign Policy and Secessionist Conflicts. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 9780773591028 – via Google Books.
- ^ Bahcheli, Tozun; Bartmann, Barry; Srebrnik, Henry (September 9, 2004). De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty. Routledge. ISBN 9781135771218 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Somaliland's Quest for International Recognition and the HBM-SSC Factor". Archived from the original on May 28, 2012.
- ^ Greenfield, Richard (May 8, 2002). "Obituary: Mohamed Ibrahim Egal". The Independent.
- ^ Schaap, William Schaap; Ray, Ellen (1980). "The CIA in Africa: How Central? How Intelligent?". Dirty Work 2: The CIA In Africa. p. 16.
The rise to power of Prime Minister Muhammed Egal was said to have been "facilitated" by "thousands of dollars in covert support to Egal and other pro-Western elements in the ruling Somali Youth League party prior to the 1967 presidential elections'
- ^ Adam, p.226
- ^ J. D. Fage, Roland Anthony Oliver, The Cambridge history of Africa, Volume 8, (Cambridge University Press: 1985), p.478.
- ^ The Encyclopedia Americana: complete in thirty volumes. Skin to Sumac, Volume 25, (Grolier: 1995), p.214.
- ^ Metz, Helen C., ed. (1992), "Coup d'Etat", Somalia: A Country Study, Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress.
- ^ Peter John de la Fosse Wiles, The New Communist Third World: an essay in political economy, (Taylor & Francis: 1982), p.279.
- ^ Africa Research Ltd (2006). Africa contemporary record: annual survey and documents, Volume 28. Africana Publishing Co. pp. B–525.
- ^ "Somalia: IRIN interview with Somali National Movement (SNM)". IRIN. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ^ "Somaliland leader buried". BBC News. May 6, 2002.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- IRIN Interview with Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, President of Somaliland
Political offices | ||
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New title | Prime Minister of the State of Somaliland 1960 | Somaliland merged with Somalia |
New title | Prime Minister of Somalia 1960 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Prime Minister of Somalia 1967 – 1969 | Succeeded by Mohamed Farah Salad |
Preceded by | President of Somaliland 1993 – 2002 | Succeeded by |