Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur Explained

Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur
Order:2nd Vice President of Somaliland[1]
President:Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal
Term Start:May 1993
Term End:May 1995
Predecessor:Hassan Isse Jama
Successor:Abdirahman Aw Ali Farrah
Order1:1st
Office1:President of Somaliland
Vicepresident1:Hassan Isse Jama
Term Start1:June 7, 1991[2]
Term End1:May 16, 1993
Predecessor1:Office established
Successor1:Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal
Order2:Chairman of the Somali National Movement[3]
Term Start2:April 1990
Term End2:May 1991
Predecessor2:Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud
Successor2:Position abolished
Birth Date:6 November 1931
Death Place:Somaliland[4]
Alma Mater:University of Exeter
Spouse:Kinsi Ibrahim Osman[5] Basbas
Native Name Lang:ar

Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur (Somali: Cabdiraxmaan Axmed Cali Tuur, Arabic: عبد الرحمن أحمد علي الطور) (var. "Tur", "Tour", meaning "Hunchback"[6]) (November 6, 1931 - November 8, 2003) was a Somali politician who served as the first President of Somaliland from 1991 to 1993. Tuur previously served as the Chairman of the Somali National Movement from 1990 to 1991. He also served as the Vice President of Somaliland from 1993 to 1995.

Biography

Tuur was born on November 6, 1931, in Burao, then a part of the British Somaliland Protectorate. He hailed from the Muse Arreh sub clan of the Habar Yoonis.[7]

He was one of the top students who graduated from the first Intermediate School in the British Somaliland Protectorate and was given a scholarship to Sudan in 1948 to study at the renowned Hantoob Secondary School. In Hantoob, he met and befriended some of the future Sudanese leaders like Jaafar Nimeiry, Sadiq Al-Mahdi and Hassan Al-Turabi. Abdirahman excelled both in sports (especially football and track) and academic studies. He later received an additional scholarship to study at the University of Exeter.

After successfully completing his university in the UK, Abdirahman returned and started his career as an Administrative Officer in Borama in 1956 and was elevated to the position of District Commissioner (DC) 3 years later (1959). In 1961 he became Governor of the Eastern Region (Burao) and then in 1964 the Governor of Western Region (Hargeisa). In that same year he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he was appointed in the following diplomatic posts:

He later became the Chairman of the Somali National Movement (SNM), a guerilla force mainly drawn from his Isaaq clan, which was attempting to topple former President of Somalia Siad Barre's military regime. Although the SNM at its inception had a unionist constitution, it eventually began to pursue a separatist agenda, looking to secede from the rest of Somalia. Under Tuur's leadership, the local administration declared the northwestern Somali territories independent on 18 May 1991. He then became the newly established Somaliland's first President, but subsequently renounced the separatist platform in 1994. Tuur concurrently began instead to publicly seek and advocate reconciliation with the rest of Somalia under a power-sharing federal system of governance.[8] In doing so, he also represented the interests of many other Isaaq members, who were against secession.[7] Tuur additionally lent some support to the UNOSOM peace-building mission in the southern regions.[9]

Death

Tuur died on November 8, 2003, at the age of 72 and was buried in Burao, Somaliland.[10]

References

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Book: A Stability-Seeking Power: U.S. Foreign Policy and Secessionist Conflicts. 9780773591028. Paquin. Jonathan. July 2010.
  2. Book: 37. Somalia/Somaliland (1960-present).
  3. Web site: Civil Society & their role in Africa's struggle to deepen democracy: Experiences of Somaliland in the Horn by Cde. Iqbal Jhazbhay . www.alnef.org.za . 2019-09-12.
  4. Book: 37. Somalia/Somaliland (1960-present).
  5. Web site: Somalilandsun.com. 31 May 2015. Somaliland: A Tribute to Abdirahman Ahmed Ali "Tuur" Father of Re-independence. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210207115054/https://www.somalilandsun.com/somaliland-a-tribute-to-abdirahman-ahmed-ali-tuur-father-of-re-independence/ . 2021-02-07 .
  6. http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/research/ndp/ref/index_e.htm?docid=233&cid=0&version=printable&disclaimer=show Issue Paper: SOMALIA, UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN THE NORTH (SOMALILAND)
  7. Book: Diedrich Westermann, Edwin William Smith, Cyril Daryll Forde. Africa, Volume 79, Issues 1-4. 2009. Oxford University Press. 259.
  8. Web site: Somaliland's Quest for International Recognition and the HBM-SSC Factor. https://web.archive.org/web/20120528122058/http://wardheernews.com/Articles_2010/June/Buh/29_Somaliland_recognition_%26_the_HBM-SSC_Factor.html. dead. May 28, 2012.
  9. http://www.h-net.org/~africa/sources/somalirpt.html Somaliland and Peace in the Horn of Africa: A Situation Report and Analysis
  10. Web site: Archived copy . 2018-06-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180623061308/http://hadhwanaagnews.ca/detail.aspx?id=157079 . 2018-06-23 . dead .