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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]
Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal | |
|---|---|
محمد حاجي إبراهيم عقال | |
.jpg) Egal in 1968 | |
| 2nd President of Somaliland | |
| In office May 16, 1993 – May 3, 2002 | |
| Vice President | Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur (1993–1995)[1] Abdirahman Aw Ali Farrah (1995–1997)[2] Dahir Riyale Kahin (1997–2002) |
| Preceded by | Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur |
| Succeeded by | Dahir Riyale Kahin |
| 1st & 4th Prime Minister of the Somali Republic | |
| In office July 1, 1960 – July 12, 1960 | |
| President | Aden Adde |
| Preceded by | Abdullahi Issa (as the prime minister of the Trust Territory of Somalia) |
| Succeeded by | Abdirashid Ali Shermarke |
| In office July 15, 1967 – October 21, 1969 | |
| President | Abdirashid Shermarke |
| Preceded by | Abdirizak Haji Hussein |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Ali Samatar |
| Prime Minister of the State of Somaliland | |
| In office June 26, 1960 – July 1, 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 15, 1928 Odweyne, British Somaliland (now Somaliland) |
| Died | May 3, 2002 (aged 73) Pretoria, South Africa |
| Political party | United Peoples' Democratic Party Somali Youth League |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Edna Adan (2) Asha Saeed Aabi (3) Hawa Ainab (4) Kaltum Haji Dahir |
| Alma mater | SOS Sheikh Secondary School |
| Signature |  |
Life and education
editEgal 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
edit
Prime Minister of the State of Somaliland
editOn 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
editHe served as the first Somali Republic's minister of defence (1960–1961),[4] 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
editIn 1967, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was elected President and he appointed Egal as the Prime Minister.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7] The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic,[8][9] arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties,[10] dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution.[11] 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
editEgal 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.[12] 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."[13]
Death
editEgal 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.[14]
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji; Castagno, Margaret (2003). Historical dictionary of Somalia (New ed.). Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-4344-7.
- ^ 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
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