| Mohamed Abdi Mohamed محمد عبدي محمد |
|
|---|---|
| President of Azania | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office April 3, 2011 |
|
| Minister of Defence of Somalia | |
| In office February 2009 – November 12, 2010 |
|
| Prime Minister | Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke |
| Preceded by | Nur Hassan Hussein |
| Succeeded by | Abdihakim Mohamoud Haji-Faqi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Somalia |
| Political party | Transitional Federal Government |
Mohamed Abdi Mohamed (Gandhi) (Somali: Maxamed Cabdi Maxamed, Arabic: محمد عبدي محمد) is a Somali anthropologist, historian and politician. He is the former Minister of Defense of Somalia, and the current President of Azania (Jubaland).
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Nicknamed "Gandhi", Mohamed hails from the Ogaden sub-clan of the Darod.[1]
He holds Ph.D. degrees in Geology and Anthropology/History[2] in addition to an Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) from Besançon University in Besançon, France. A former Research Scientist at the IRD in Paris, Gandhi was awarded an International Baccalaureate Diploma. He also served as a senior program advisor of UNDP Somalia in Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).
An active participant in the Somali peace process, Gandhi was Lead Consultant in Mapping the Somali Civil Society. He also chaired the Technical Committee at the Arta Somali Peace process that took place in Arta, Djibouti, as well as being a member of the Somali Civil Society at the Somali Peace and Reconciliation Conference that was held in Kenya.
An accomplished author, Gandhi has published eight books in addition to more than 40 scientific articles in various academic journals. He has also edited three studies.
On February 21, 2009, Gandhi was appointed Somalia's Minister of Defense by the nation's then head of government, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.[3] He held the position until November 10, 2010.
On April 3, 2011, the establishment of a new autonomous region in southern Somalia was announced. Referred to as Azania (formerly Jubaland[4]), the nascent polity is led by Gandhi, who is serving as its first President.[5] According to President Ghandi, Azania was selected as the name for the new administration because of its historical importance, as "Azania was a name given to Somalia more than 2,500 years ago and it was given by Egyptian sailors who used to get a lot of food reserves from the Somali Coast[...] Its origin is [an] Arabic word meaning the land of plenty."[6]
Gandhi's first stated policy initiative is to remove the Al Shabaab group of militants from the territory.[5]