| Mahmoud Harbi محمود الحربي |
|
|---|---|
| Vice President of Djibouti | |
| In office 1957 – December 1958 |
|
| Preceded by | n/a |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1921 |
| Died | 1960 |
| Religion | Islam |
Mahmoud Harbi Farah (Arabic: محمود الحربي) (b.1921-September 1960) was a Somali politician. A Pan-Somalist, he was Djibouti's Prime Minister and the Vice President of its Territorial Assembly from 1957 to December 1958, during the country's pre-independence period.[1]
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Nicknamed Fourlaba, Harbi was born in Djibouti in 1921 to an Issa Somali family.[1][2] He later joined the colonial army, and won the French Croix de guerre in World War II.[3]
A fervent Somali nationalist, Harbi actively campaigned throughout his political career for Djibouti to unite with Somalia. He increased his circle of friends in the Middle East through gifts such as the lions he gave to the Imam of Yemen and the King of Saudi Arabia who in return (as is customary) backed him with funds. Harbi's main political rival was Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who in 1956 gave Harbi an excellent opportunity to gather support by capitalizing on Harbi's controversial statement with regards to expelling all foreigners from Djibouti. Harbi came to the defense of the minority communities such as the Arabs and French who in turn rewarded him with political and material support.[4]
In 1958, on the eve of neighboring Somalia's independence in 1960, a referendum was held in French Somaliland to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, partly due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans.[5] There was also widespread vote rigging, with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls.[6] The majority of those who voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as Harbi had proposed.[5]
Harbi's refusal to acknowledge the plebiscite's results, which he considered doctored, would ultimately cause him to lock heads with the French authorities, who exiled him to Cairo.
Harbi would eventually settle in Mogadishu, where he frequently joined Somali radio programs and preached Pan-Somalism to the Somalis of the Horn of Africa. In September 1960, he and several of his associates died in a plane crash on a return trip from China to Somalia.