He was born in Wardheer, (officially on September 5, 1928) and grew up in a town in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. While very young, he participated in the fight for his country's independence. In 1947 he joined the Somali Youth League, a movement opposing the British occupation.[1] After attending normal school, he became an elementary teacher, then worked for BBC Somali and Radio Mogadishu and, in 1958, went to Rome, where he was placed in charge of RAI's Africa and Somali Service (Italian Radio Broadcasting and Television Company) broadcasts to Africa.
While in Rome, he studied political science and in February 1964, he obtained his PhD in political science from the University of Rome La Sapienza and joined the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1964 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) in Rome from 1969 to 1974, and to the French Government in Paris from 1974 to 1979.
He was one of the main Somali architects and strategists for Djibouti's independence from France in 1977. He was later appointed minister of state at the presidency in Mogadishu in 1979 and placed in charge of relations with the Western powers in a particularly touchy regional and international context involving the commitment of the Soviet Union and Cuba on behalf of Ethiopia. He handed in his resignation in Paris in September 1981.
He was a neutral figure at the onset of the Somali civil war, but later on he contributed to the founding of the SNF group and was in very good terms with many of the new Ethiopian leaders that took over after the demise of Mengistu's regime in May 1991, particularly with the then President Meles Ato Zenawi.
He was among the very few decent Somali politicians, a voice of moderation and a lover and supporter of the arts and artists, before and during the Somali strife. He left behind many writings, poems and famous songs.
He died on March 8, 1995, in Sceaux, France, after a long struggle against liver cancer and was buried at the Cimetière parisien de Thiais on March 13, 1995.
Referencesedit
^Tripodi, Paolo (1999). "Back to the Horn: Italian Administration and Somalia's Troubled Independence". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 32 (2/3): 359–380. doi:10.2307/220346. ISSN 0361-7882.
This article about a Somali politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
mohamed, said, samatar, mohamed, said, samantar, gacaliye, somali, politician, محمد, سعيد, سمترpersonal, detailsbornseptember, 1928wardheer, ethiopiadiedmarch, 1995sceaux, francebiography, edithe, born, wardheer, officially, september, 1928, grew, town, somali. Mohamed Said Samantar Ga lie Gacaliye was a Somali politician Mohamed Said Samatar محمد سعيد سمترPersonal detailsBornSeptember 5 1928Wardheer EthiopiaDiedMarch 8 1995Sceaux FranceBiography editHe was born in Wardheer officially on September 5 1928 and grew up in a town in the Somali Region of Ethiopia While very young he participated in the fight for his country s independence In 1947 he joined the Somali Youth League a movement opposing the British occupation 1 After attending normal school he became an elementary teacher then worked for BBC Somali and Radio Mogadishu and in 1958 went to Rome where he was placed in charge of RAI s Africa and Somali Service Italian Radio Broadcasting and Television Company broadcasts to Africa While in Rome he studied political science and in February 1964 he obtained his PhD in political science from the University of Rome La Sapienza and joined the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1964 to 1966 to Italy and the FAO Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome from 1969 to 1974 and to the French Government in Paris from 1974 to 1979 He was one of the main Somali architects and strategists for Djibouti s independence from France in 1977 He was later appointed minister of state at the presidency in Mogadishu in 1979 and placed in charge of relations with the Western powers in a particularly touchy regional and international context involving the commitment of the Soviet Union and Cuba on behalf of Ethiopia He handed in his resignation in Paris in September 1981 He was a neutral figure at the onset of the Somali civil war but later on he contributed to the founding of the SNF group and was in very good terms with many of the new Ethiopian leaders that took over after the demise of Mengistu s regime in May 1991 particularly with the then President Meles Ato Zenawi He was among the very few decent Somali politicians a voice of moderation and a lover and supporter of the arts and artists before and during the Somali strife He left behind many writings poems and famous songs He died on March 8 1995 in Sceaux France after a long struggle against liver cancer and was buried at the Cimetiere parisien de Thiais on March 13 1995 References edit Tripodi Paolo 1999 Back to the Horn Italian Administration and Somalia s Troubled Independence The International Journal of African Historical Studies 32 2 3 359 380 doi 10 2307 220346 ISSN 0361 7882 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mohamed Said Samatar news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message nbsp This article about a Somali politician is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mohamed Said Samatar amp oldid 1172400151, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
