Mayor of Mogadishu
The Mayor of Mogadishu is head of the executive branch of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces laws within the city. The current mayor is Omar Muhamoud Finnish, who was appointed on 22 August 2019 and succeeded the Martyr Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman, who was killed on 1 August 2019 due to a suicide bombing occurred 24 July 2019 inside the mayor's office.
The mayor's office is located in Mogadishu City Hall, which was recently renovated after years of abandonment and decay during the Somali Civil War. The mayor is not elected, but is appointed by the President of Somalia. The mayor also holds the title of Governor of Benaadir, an administrative region whose territory is coextensive with the city of Mogadishu.
History of the office
The first mayor of Mogadishu was Romeo Campani, an Italian expatriate who was appointed by General Rodolfo Graziani, the Governor of Italian Somaliland. Beginning in 1953 with the appointment of Cali Cumar Sheegow, the office of mayor has been held by native Somalis. After Somalian independence from Italy in 1960, the mayor has been appointed by the President of Somalia.
List of mayors
Colonial mayors
The following mayors of Mogadishu were appointed by the Governor of Italian Somaliland. From 1941 to 1949, resulting from World War II, the British occupied the territory and appointed the mayors, who remained Italians. Beginning in 1953, native Somalis were appointed to the office.
# | Mayor | Term | Governor |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Romeo Campani | 1 December 1936 – 15 December 1937 | Rodolfo Graziani |
2 | Rag Scarpa | 15 December 1937 – 1 March 1937 | Francesco Saviero Caroselli |
3 | Dr. Sicar | 1 March 1937 – 3 June 1937 | |
4 | Luigi Barbino | 3 June 1937 – 1937 | |
5 | Marcelio Baudino | 1937 – December 1938 | |
6 | Sanatore Guliano | December 1938 – February 1941 | |
Gustavo Pesenti | |||
7 | Pietro Bartelli | February 1941 – April 1950 | Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith |
Giovanni Fornari | |||
8 | Oliveri Olivierio | April 1950 – June 1950 | |
9 | Enrico Aliviero | June 1950 – November 1953 | |
10 | Carlo Vecco | November 1953 – 1953 | |
11 | Maxamed Sheekh Jamaal Cabdulaahi | 1956–1960 | Enrico Anzilotti |
Post-independence mayors
Since Somalia's independence on 1 July 1960, mayors of Mogadishu have been appointed by the President of Somalia:
Vice mayors
The mayor of Mogadishu is assisted by a vice mayor or deputy mayor. The current vice mayor is Iman Nur Ikar.
Notable former vice mayors
- Hassan Haji Mohamoud (1982–1991)
Living former mayors
Living former mayors of Mogadishu include: Hassan Mohamed Hussein, Hassan Abshir Farah, Yusuf Hussein Jimaale, and Mohamed Nur.
In popular culture
Towards the end of the Somali Rebellion, President Siad Barre was sometimes mockingly referred to by many as the "Mayor of Mogadishu," based on the fact that Barre controlled little territory outside the capital.[7] By 1989, when the United Somali Congress had captured most surrounding towns and villages, this had become a common saying in Somalia, and on 29 September 1990, the British newspaper The Economist used the phrase in reference to Barre.[8]
During the early 1990s, after the overthrow of the Siad regime and during the Somali famine, Dan Eldon, a British photojournalist who covered the famine and conflict, became popular among Mogadishans that he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mogadishu."[9][10]
See also
References
- ^ Abukar, Hassan (2015-05-26). Mogadishu Memoir. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781504911559.
- ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Somalia: Information on the mayor of Mogadishu during 1990-1992 and whether the city of Mogadishu issued identity cards and the reasons behind their issuance". Refworld. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- ^ a b Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Somalia: Update to SOM27549 of 27 August 1997 on place of issue of Somali birth certificates; update to SOM12922.E of 27 January 1993 on the names of the mayors of Mogadishu in 1988 and 1990". Refworld. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
- ^ Kapteijns, Lidwien (2012-12-18). Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 133. ISBN 0812207580.
- ^ Barise, Hassan (2001-09-03). "Taxman returns to Mogadishu". BBC News.
- ^ "WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY in Mogadishu, Mogadishu University and SCWE". www.somwe.com. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
- ^ Harper, Mary (2012-02-09). Getting Somalia Wrong?: Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State. Zed Books Ltd. ISBN 9781780321059.
- ^ Harper, Mary (2012-02-09). Getting Somalia Wrong?: Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State. Zed Books Ltd. p. 117. ISBN 9781780321059.
- ^ "Young photographer exposed Somalia's horrors". CNN. 1997-12-07. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
- ^ Lorch, Donatella (1993-08-22). "Endpaper/Life and Times; Four Friends". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-08-01.