Sharif Ahmed
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| Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed شيخ شريف شيخ احمد |
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| Assumed office 31 January 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | Nur Hassan Hussein Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke |
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| Preceded by | Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe (Acting) |
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| Born | 25 July 1964 Mahadai, Jowhar, Somalia |
| Political party | Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia |
| Religion | Islam |
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (Somali: Sheekh Shariif Sheekh Axmed, Arabic: الشيخ شريف شيخ أحمد) (born July 25, 1964) is the 7th President of Somalia and former Commander in Chief of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). Ahmed was born in the Shabeellaha Dhexe province of Somalia and studied at Libyan and Sudanese universities. He has worked as a secondary school teacher of geography, Arabic, and religious studies. He speaks Arabic, Somali, and English.
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[edit] Education
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed began his education at the Sheikh Sufi Institute, which was associated with the Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He then went to Sudan and entered Kordufan University in late 1992, where he pursued a Bachelor's degree in the Arabic language (major) and geography (minor) in the city of Aldalanj. In 1994, the university was renamed to the University of Dalanj, and Sheikh Sharif left for Tripoli, the capital of Libya, after having completed only two out of the required four years. In Libya, he entered the Open University where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Law and Islamic Shariah, graduating in 1998.
A hafiz, Ahmed had memorized the Qur'an by heart as a child and spoke only standard Arabic shunning slang and local dialects. Thus, his religious upbringing and education more than qualified him to succeed his father as the spiritual leader of the Idriseeyah sect of Sufi Islam in Somalia.[1]
[edit] Islamic Courts Union
After returning from overseas, Ahmed became involved in the ICU and was elected to head a small local sub-clan court in Jowhar. A few years later, a local gang in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, kidnapped a young student and demanded a ransom from his family in return for the boy's release. This incident was one of countless other kidnappings and killings perpetrated by armed groups in the Somali capital who exploited the disintegration of the central government. This event reportedly marked a turning point in the life of Sheikh Ahmed and propelled his further involvement with the ICU.[2]
By 2004, Sheikh Ahmed had become one the leading figures in the Mogadishu Islamic Courts. His closest friends and allies included Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, one of the founders of the ICU, and Aden Hashi Farah "Eyrow", a man whom Washington alleges has connections with the Al-Qaeda network and fought in Afghanistan in 2001. [3]
On September 9, 2006, under the auspices of Abdikasim Salad Hassan, the former President of the Somali Transitional National Government, Sheikh Ahmed and several colleagues attended an AU ceremony in Sirte, Libya, marking the seventh anniversary of a summit of African leaders. In an interview with Reuters and the BBC, Sheikh Ahmed suggested his delegation would seek the help of Libya and other African nations to bring about a rapprochement between the Islamists and the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG). However, he reportedly arrived in Khartoum, Sudan 48 hours before the start of the conference between the Somali government and the ICU only to leave 24 hours later. Sheikh Ahmed said Ethiopia had been hostile to Somalia for more than 500 years, and reiterated a long-standing Islamist accusation that Ethiopian forces were intervening in Somalia. Ethiopia denied any of its troops were fighting in Somalia. However, arrangements for an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-led peacekeeping force did not materialize.[4]
[edit] ICU falls
On December 28, 2006, after only six months in power and the defeat of the ICU's army, he committed himself to fighting the Ethiopian forces in Somalia. After the ICU's defeat in the Battle of Jilib and their abandonment of Kismayo, he fled towards the Kenyan border.
He was detained, with three other Somalis, by Kenyan police on January 21, 2007 near the Hulugo border. He met the US Ambassador to Kenya for talks regarding cooperation with the TFG. He was under the protection of Kenyan authorities staying at a hotel in Nairobi.
On February 1, 2007 Sharif Ahmed was released from Kenyan police authorities.[7] By February 8, Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed had gone to Yemen where other ICU members are thought to have also gone.[8]
[edit] Family
Before fleeing, Sheikh Sharif lived with his wife and two children, Ahmad, aged 9 and Abdullah, who is a toddler, in a modest house in Mogadishu.[9]
[edit] 2009 presidential election
As the first round of voting began, several candidates withdrew, increasing the speculation that the vote would largely be a choice between Nur Hassan Hussein and Sharif Ahmed. In the first round, Sharif Ahmed got 215 votes, Maslah Mohamed Said 60 and Nur Hassan Hussein 59; Nur Hassan Hussein then withdrew his candidacy, thus likely sealing the election of Sharif Ahmed as president. In the final round of the presidential election he prevailed with 293 votes.
After winning the vote in the early hours of January 31, 2009, Ahmed was sworn in later in the day at the Kempinski hotel in Djibouti.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ Aljazeera News (Arabic Network)
- ^ "Mogadishu's modest Islamic leader". BBC. 2006-06-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5072268.stm. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
- ^ Mohamed Abdi Farah - Somalia correspondent (June 14, 2006). "The profile of Islamic courts leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed" (HTML). somalinet. http://somalinet.com/news/world/English/2882. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ Somali Islamists to ask AU to end peace force plan, Reuters, September 9, 2006
- ^ "jnj Top Islamist arrested on Kenya-Somalia border". The East African Standard. 2007-01-21. http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143963931 jnj. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
- ^ "Top Somali Islamist surrenders in Kenya". AFP. 2007-01-22. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070122/ts_afp/somaliaunrest_070122160829. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
- ^ "Somali Islamist leader out of Kenyan custody". Reuters. 2007-02-01. http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2007/feb/somali_islamist_leader_out_of_kenyan_custody.aspx. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- ^ "Somali Islamist travels to Yemen". BBC. 2007-02-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6342527.stm. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
- ^ Khaled Mahmoud (2006-05-17). "Interview with Head of Somalia's Islamic courts organization Sheikh Sharif Ahmad" (HTML). sundaytelegraph. http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=4971. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Somalia swears in new president", Sapa-AFP (IOL), January 31, 2009.
11. Ali Osman E- (February 8, 2009). "Help Somalia Now " (HTML). Hiiraan. http://www.hiiraan.com/op2/2009/feb/help_somalia_now.aspx. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
[edit] External links
- Interview in Der Spiegel
- Interview at AU summit Radio France International
- http://www.nationtv.org Somali Government Official Website]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe Acting |
President of Somalia 2009 – Present |
Incumbent |
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