Ali Mohammed Ghedi
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Ali Mohammed Ghedi or Mohammed Ali Ghedi (Somali: Maxamed Cali Geeddi) (born 1951) is the Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia. He was relatively unknown in political circles upon his appointment as prime minister on November 2004. He is affiliated with the Abgaal subclan of Mogadishu's Hawiye clan, one of Somalia's two main clans.[1]
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[edit] Siad Barre government
Ghedi's father was a Colonel in the Somali National Security Service (NSS) under the reign of Siad Barre. During the 1980s, his father was responsible for assisting the Ethiopian resistance group the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF).[2] As a university student Ghedi was allegedly recruited to spy on his fellow students for the NSS, providing reports which led to the arrests and torture of hundreds.[2]
[edit] Veterinarian
Professor Ghedi attended the University of Mogadishu 197–1978 and attended the veterinary school at the University of Pisa in Italy 1979–1981. He afterwards became an assistant lecturer and later head of the veterinary department at the University of Mogadishu from 1982 to 1991. When the University closed due to the Somali Civil War, he became a special advisor and consultant to regional livestock groups, including the USAID-funded Red Sea Livestock Trade Commission (RSLTC). While working for the Italian NGO Terra Nuova, he made the controversial pronouncement Somali livestock suffered from Rift Valley fever, which caused a ban on Somali animal exports to the Persian Gulf states, hampering the fragile Somali economy.[1][2]
[edit] Somali Civil War
During the war, he first worked with the United Somali Congress's Ali Mahdi Mohammed, heading up his logistical section, and later serving as his Assistant Defense Secretary.[2]
He later founded the Somalia NGO Consortium and worked for the reconcilation of warring parties.[1] He was a former African Union official, as well as a high-ranking Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) member. He was often in Jowhar, and an associate of Mohamed Dheere, who even personally stepped down from the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP) to allow Ghedi a seat to become appointed Prime Minister.[2]
[edit] Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
[edit] Government in Exile
As head of the TFG, Ghedi promised to form an inclusive government, and to strive for reconciliation among Mogadishu's warlords.
After a failed assassination attempt, Ghedi fled to Nairobi, Kenya. On July 2005, he moved to Jowhar, one of two towns (the other being Baidoa) being used as a temporary joint Somali capital.
[edit] Government in Baidoa
In March 2006, fighting broke out between the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) warlords and the Islamic Court Union (ICU) over the control of Mogadishu, which intensified in May.[3] The conflict became known as the Second Battle of Mogadishu. The Prime Minister demanded the warlords, four of whom were members of the TFG government[4], to cease fighting the ICU, but this command was universally ignored and so Ghedi dismissed them from Parliament. These included National Security Minister Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, Commerce Minister Musa Sudi Yalahow, Militia Rehabilitation Minister Issa Botan Alin and Religious Affairs Minister Omar Muhamoud Finnish.[5]
[edit] Return to Mogadishu
During December 2006, the ICU and affiliated Islamist militias suffered crucial defeats by the TFG and Ethiopian armies, who on December 29 entered Mogadishu relatively unopposed. Although Ghedi was jubilantly welcomed to the city, his Ethiopian allies faced angry crowds who pelted Ethiopian troops with rocks. [6]
On January 1, 2007, he announced "The warlord era in Mogadishu is now over."[7] Ghedi's first actions included declaring martial law for three months, calling for the disarmament of the militias, and the appointment of new judges.[8]
| Preceded by Muhammad Abdi Yusuf |
Prime Minister of the Republic of Somalia November 3, 2004–present |
Succeeded by – |
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c "Profile: Ali Mohamed Ghedi", BBC, 2004-11-04. Retrieved on January 29, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e "Ali Mohammed Ghedi-Meles Zenawi's Stooge and Somalia's Traitor", Somaliland Times, 2006-01-28. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ "Somalia's Tangled Web Becomes Contorted'", Somaliland Times, 2006-05-26. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ "Somali warlords battle Islamists", BBC, 2006-03-23. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ "Islamic militia ends 15 year Somali warlords' rule", IslamOnline.net and news agencies, 2006-06-05. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ "Mixed signals in Mogadishu" New York Times, 29 December 2006.
- ^ Somali prime minister orders complete disarmament Associated Press
- ^ "Somalia: Judges sworn in the capital", SomaliNet, 2007-01-04. Retrieved on January 15, 2007.
