Mohamed Yonis

Mohamed Yonis
محمد يونس
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 25, 2013
Preceded by Mohamed Abdullahi Omar
Personal details
Born 1947

Mohamed Bihi Yonis (Somali: Maxamed Yoonis, Arabic: محمد يونس‎) (b. 1947) is a Somali diplomat and politician. He is the Foreign Minister of the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia.

Personal life

Yonis holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Miami University. He has a diploma in education from the Teachers Training College in Hargeisa and Gohrde College in Germany, and a certificate in conflict management from the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution.

Yonis is married to Halima Mumin, with whom he has four children: Safia Yonis, Zacharia Yonis, Fatima Yonis and Ahmed Yonis.

Career

Yonis’s vast prior experience includes work in a peacekeeping capacity. such as senior-level field-assignments. These include serving as the Chief Administrative Officer with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) from 2002 to 2006, and as the Chief Administrative Officer in the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) from 2001 to 2002. Prior to service in peacekeeping, he worked for the African Development Bank in Côte d’Ivoire in various senior positions, including the Director and Management Adviser to the President of the Bank, and the Deputy Director of Human Resources Management.

In a professional capacity, Yonis worked as the Deputy Joint Special Representative for Operations and Management in the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). He has also previously served as the Director of Mission Support in UNAMID, where he has contributing effectively in addressing the mission’s operational, administrative and logistical support challenges. Mr. Yonis’s work with these operations began at the initial planning stages in 2006, when he served as the Head of the Darfur Planning Team in New York and later as the Mission Support Adviser to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).

On 25 June 2013, Yonis was appointed Foreign Minister of the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia. He replaced Mohamed Abdullahi Omar, following a cabinet reshuffle.[1]

Since becoming Foreign Minister of Somaliland, Yonis has revitalised the region's foreign policy and the Foreign Ministry with interviews on CNN, invitations to the World Economic Forum and other governmental trips to Australia, the UK, the UAE, Taiwan, and the UN Security Council in New York.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Somaliland: President Silanyo Unveils A Major Reshuffle To His Cabinet". Midnimo. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

References