Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal (Somali: Maxamed Xaaji Ibraahim Cigaal, Arabic: محمد الحاج ابراهيم عقال; August 15, 1928 – May 3, 2002) was a Somali politician who served as the President of Somaliland from 1993 to his death in 2002. He previously served as the first prime minister of the Somali Republic for eleven days in 1960 and again from 1967 to 1969.[3]
He completed his primary, intermediate, and secondary education in former British Somaliland and then moved to the United Kingdom. Egal was married to Asha Saeed Abby, and together they had three sons and two daughters.
Career
Egal saluting the Somali flag at the occasion of Somaliland's independence ceremony on 26 June 1960
He served as the first Somali's defence minister (1960–1962), Education Minister (1962–1963), Prime minister (1967–1969), and ambassador to India (1976–1978), although he was imprisoned twice under Barre dictatorship.
He was still the Prime Minister and in Washington D.C. when President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated on October 15, 1969. Shortly afterward, the newly established Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) led by Major General Siad Barre, Brigadier General Mohamed Ainashe Gule, Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel seized power.[5] The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic,[6][7] arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties,[8] dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution.[9] Egal was among the politicians detained by the SRC for his prominent role in the nation's early government. He was eventually released and was named the Ambassador to India (1976-1978) before the Barre regime imprisoned him again on charges of conspiracy until 1985.
President of Somaliland
Egal managed to successfully disarm and rehabilitate rebel groups, stabilised the north western region and Economy of Somaliland, successfully managed to establish bilateral trade with foreign countries, introduce Somaliland new currency the Somaliland shilling, as well as the Somaliland passport and Somaliland national flag and creating the most successful and powerful armed police and military force in Somalia.
Throughout his term as president of the Republic of Somaliland, Egal's dedication to the secessionist cause was doubted and challenged by hardliners, particularly within the Somali National Movement (SNM), who believed that he still ultimately hoped to reconcile with other political actors in the rest of Somalia. In August 2001, Egal survived by one vote a motion tabled by several regional MPs charging him of half-heartedly pursuing separatism.[10] In an interview with IRIN the same year, SNM leader Abdirahman Awale also said of Egal that "when he says he is for independence, it is for local consumption only. He tells the people here one thing, but in his speeches elsewhere he has clearly declared that Somalia will unite one day. He says we will talk to the southerners when they make their home clean and negotiate with them... He says one thing to the public, and a different thing to the international community."[11]
Death
Egal died on May 3, 2002 in Pretoria, South Africa while undergoing surgery at a military hospital. His body was returned to Somaliland for a state funeral, whereafter his three sons laid him to rest next to his father, in accordance with his last wishes. Around 4,000 mourners reportedly attended his burial in Berbera, and the regional parliament declared seven days of mourning. Dahir Rayale Kahin was sworn in the next day as the new president.[12]
References
^Paquin, Jonathan (July 1, 2010). A Stability-Seeking Power: U.S. Foreign Policy and Secessionist Conflicts. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN9780773591028 – via Google Books.
^Bahcheli, Tozun; Bartmann, Barry; Srebrnik, Henry (September 9, 2004). De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty. Routledge. ISBN9781135771218 – via Google Books.
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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 Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal Somali Maxamed Xaaji Ibraahim Cigaal Arabic محمد الحاج ابراهيم عقال August 15 1928 May 3 2002 was a Somali politician who served as the President of Somaliland from 1993 to his death in 2002 He previously served as the first prime minister of the Somali Republic for eleven days in 1960 and again from 1967 to 1969 3 Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal محمد الحاج ابراهيم عقال2nd President of SomalilandIn office May 16 1993 May 3 2002Vice PresidentAbdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur 1993 1995 1 Abdirahman Aw Ali Farrah 1995 1997 2 Dahir Riyale Kahin 1997 2002 Preceded byAbdirahman Ahmed Ali TuurSucceeded byDahir Riyale KahinPrime Minister of the State of SomalilandIn office June 26 1960 July 1 1960Preceded bySir Douglas Hall as Governor of British Somaliland Succeeded byNone position abolished 1st amp 4th prime minister of Somali RepublicIn office July 1 1960 July 12 1960Preceded byAbdullahi Issa as the prime minister of the Trust Territory of Somalia Succeeded byAbdirashid Ali ShermarkeIn office July 15 1967 October 21 1969Preceded byAbdirizak Haji HusseinSucceeded byMuhammad Ali SamatarPersonal detailsBorn 1928 08 15 August 15 1928Odweyne British Somaliland now Somaliland DiedMay 3 2002 2002 05 03 aged 73 Pretoria South AfricaPolitical partyUnited Peoples Democratic PartySomali Youth LeagueSpouse s 1 Edna Adan 2 Asha Saeed Aabi 3 Hawa Ainab 4 Kaltum Haji DahirAlma materSOS Sheikh Secondary SchoolSignature Contents 1 Life and education 2 Career 2 1 Government work 2 2 Prime Minister of Somali Republic 2 3 President of Somaliland 3 Death 4 References 5 External linksLife and education EditEgal was born in 1928 in Odweyne then a part of British Somaliland He hails from the Issa Musse sub division of the Habar Awal clan of Isaaq He completed his primary intermediate and secondary education in former British Somaliland and then moved to the United Kingdom Egal was married to Asha Saeed Abby and together they had three sons and two daughters Career Edit Egal saluting the Somali flag at the occasion of Somaliland s independence ceremony on 26 June 1960 On 26 June 1960 Egal was Prime minister of the newly independent State of Somaliland which merged five days later with the former Trust Territory of Somalia to form the Somali Republic on July 1 1960 Government work Edit He served as the first Somali s defence minister 1960 1962 Education Minister 1962 1963 Prime minister 1967 1969 and ambassador to India 1976 1978 although he was imprisoned twice under Barre dictatorship Prime Minister of Somali Republic Edit In 1967 Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was elected President and he appointed Egal as the Prime Minister 4 He was still the Prime Minister and in Washington D C when President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated on October 15 1969 Shortly afterward the newly established Supreme Revolutionary Council SRC led by Major General Siad Barre Brigadier General Mohamed Ainashe Gule Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel seized power 5 The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic 6 7 arrested members of the former civilian government banned political parties 8 dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court and suspended the constitution 9 Egal was among the politicians detained by the SRC for his prominent role in the nation s early government He was eventually released and was named the Ambassador to India 1976 1978 before the Barre regime imprisoned him again on charges of conspiracy until 1985 President of Somaliland Edit Egal managed to successfully disarm and rehabilitate rebel groups stabilised the north western region and Economy of Somaliland successfully managed to establish bilateral trade with foreign countries introduce Somaliland new currency the Somaliland shilling as well as the Somaliland passport and Somaliland national flag and creating the most successful and powerful armed police and military force in Somalia Throughout his term as president of the Republic of Somaliland Egal s dedication to the secessionist cause was doubted and challenged by hardliners particularly within the Somali National Movement SNM who believed that he still ultimately hoped to reconcile with other political actors in the rest of Somalia In August 2001 Egal survived by one vote a motion tabled by several regional MPs charging him of half heartedly pursuing separatism 10 In an interview with IRIN the same year SNM leader Abdirahman Awale also said of Egal that when he says he is for independence it is for local consumption only He tells the people here one thing but in his speeches elsewhere he has clearly declared that Somalia will unite one day He says we will talk to the southerners when they make their home clean and negotiate with them He says one thing to the public and a different thing to the international community 11 Death EditEgal died on May 3 2002 in Pretoria South Africa while undergoing surgery at a military hospital His body was returned to Somaliland for a state funeral whereafter his three sons laid him to rest next to his father in accordance with his last wishes Around 4 000 mourners reportedly attended his burial in Berbera and the regional parliament declared seven days of mourning Dahir Rayale Kahin was sworn in the next day as the new president 12 References Edit Paquin Jonathan July 1 2010 A Stability Seeking Power U S Foreign Policy and Secessionist Conflicts McGill Queen s Press MQUP ISBN 9780773591028 via Google Books Bahcheli Tozun Bartmann Barry Srebrnik Henry September 9 2004 De Facto States The Quest for Sovereignty Routledge ISBN 9781135771218 via Google Books Somaliland s Quest for International Recognition and the HBM SSC Factor Archived from the original on May 28 2012 Greenfield Richard May 8 2002 Obituary Mohamed Ibrahim Egal The Independent Adam p 226 J D Fage Roland Anthony Oliver The Cambridge history of Africa Volume 8 Cambridge University Press 1985 p 478 The Encyclopedia Americana complete in thirty volumes Skin to Sumac Volume 25 Grolier 1995 p 214 Metz Helen C ed 1992 Coup d Etat Somalia A Country Study Washington D C Library of Congress Peter John de la Fosse Wiles The New Communist Third World an essay in political economy Taylor amp Francis 1982 p 279 Africa Research Ltd 2006 Africa contemporary record annual survey and documents Volume 28 Africana Publishing Co pp B 525 Somalia IRIN interview with Somali National Movement SNM IRIN Retrieved 2 September 2012 Somaliland leader buried BBC News May 6 2002 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal IRIN Interview with Mohamed Ibrahim Egal President of SomalilandPolitical officesNew title Prime Minister of the State of Somaliland1960 Somaliland merged with SomaliaNew title Prime Minister of Somalia1960 Succeeded byAbdirashid Ali ShermarkePreceded byAbdirizak Haji Hussein Prime Minister of Somalia1967 1969 Succeeded byMohamed Farah SaladPreceded byAbdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur President of Somaliland1993 2002 Succeeded byDahir Riyale Kahin Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal amp oldid 1120526072, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
