Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud Explained

Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud
حسن محمد نور شاتيغادود
Birth Date:17 June 1946
Birth Place:Somalia
Death Date:3 April 2013
Death Place:Dortmund, Germany
Spouse:Sara Xaaji Guuleed
Office:Minister of Finance of Somalia
Term Start:15 January 2005
Term End:2 December 2007
Primeminister:Ali Mohammed Ghedi
Predecessor:Hussein Mahmud Sheikh Hussein
Successor:Muhammad Yusuf Weyrah

Colonel Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud (Somali: Xasan Maxamed Nuur Shaatigaduud; Arabic: حسن محمد نور شاتيغادود) (1946-2013) was a Somali politician and faction leader. He served as the chairman of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), and subsequently as the first President of the short-lived Southwestern Somalia autonomous regional state. Shatigadud was later a Member of the Transitional Federal Parliament, and was eventually appointed Minister of Finance in the Transitional Federal Government. Shatigadud was succeeded as president by Madobe Nunow.

Personal life

Shatigadud was born in 1946 in Bakaar Yare, Waajid, Bakool, near the border with Ethiopia in southern Somalia. He hailed from the Hariin subclan of Mirifle Rahanweyn. He attended primary school in Baidoa, then moved to Mogadishu for secondary school. He later studied at universities in Somalia, Italy and Russia. He was multilingual, reportedly speaking Somali, Maay, Arabic, Italian, Russian and English.

After having lived and worked most of his life in Somalia, Shatigadud eventually retired to Dortmund, Germany. He died there in late March 2013, having suffered a heart attack. His body was subsequently flown to Mogadishu for a Janaza prayer by Members of Parliament and other senior Federal Government officials. Shatigaduud was finally laid to rest in Baidoa's main cemetery, with a large crowd attending the funeral and prayer service.[1]

Career

National Security Service

Shatigadud ("Red Shirt") served as a colonel in the National Security Service (NSS). He was also a Governor of the Gedo region under the Siad Barre administration.[2]

Rahanweyn Resistance Army

Following the start of the civil war in 1991, Shatigadud acted as the leader of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA). The rebel group was founded in September 1995 to oppose the invasion of the southwestern Bay and Bakool regions by Mohamed Farah Aideed's Somali National Alliance (SNA).

For a time, the RRA later supported an initiative to form a new Transitional National Government (TNG) under President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan.

President of Southwestern Somalia

On April 1, 2002, Shatigadud became the President of the Southwestern State of Somalia, an autonomous self-proclaimed state in southern Somalia centered in Baidoa.[3] [4] The polity's organization was thought to be a move to show the disaffection of the RRA with the nascent Mogadishu-based Transitional National Government, as well as an act to counter the influence of the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) in the same regions.

Internal disputes developed between Shatigadud, who wished to support the new Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), and his two deputies, Sheikh Aden Madobe and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade, who wished to continue to support the TNG. The conflict resulted in many deaths and calls for Shatigadud to step down as President.[5] Habsade continued to meet with TNG leaders ostensibly with the hope of being part of the nascent national government.[6] The feuding leaders of the RRA were eventually reconciled and, though conflicts periodically erupted thereafter, all joined the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) at its formation.

Transitional Federal Government

In November 2004, Shatigadud was appointed a Member of the 275-seat Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP).[7] Transitional Federal Government (TFG) Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi later named him Minister of Finance in January 2005.[8] [9]

On December 2, 2007, Shatigadud was appointed Minister of National Security in the government of Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein. He along with three other ministers from his Rahanweyn clan resigned the following day, asserting that their constituents had not been given a fair share of posts in Hussein's government.[10]

Notes and References

  1. News: Somalia: Body of Shaati-Gaduud laid to rest in his hometown. 29 March 2014. Garowe Online. 8 April 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130415043125/http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_Body_of_Shaati-Gaduud_laid_to_rest_in_his_hometown_printer.shtml. 15 April 2013.
  2. Web site: Southern regional authorities: the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) (2004). 2007-02-04. 2004. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222349/http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpEnvelopes)/2626D6CA7E7040B5802570B8005AACE9?OpenDocument. 2007-09-27.
  3. News: SOMALIA: RRA sets up autonomous region. 2002-04-01. IRIN. 2007-02-04. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130729014609/http://fotw.us/flags/so-sws.html. 2013-07-29.
  4. News: Third autonomous region breaks with Somalia. Afrol News. 2002-03-02. 2007-02-04.
  5. News: Baidoa uneasy as RRA leaders wrangle. IRIN. 2002-06-27. 2007-02-04.
  6. News: SOMALIA: RRA leaders in talks with TNG. 2002-09-02. IRIN. 2007-02-04.
  7. Web site: SELECTED MEMBERS OF TRANSITIONAL FEDERAL PARLIAMENT OF SOMALIA . November 2004 . 2007-02-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150913083825/http://somali-civilsociety.org/downloads/Names%20of%20the%20selected%20Members%20of%20Parliament.pdf . September 13, 2015 .
  8. Web site: Prime Minister Geedi announced his second cabinet line up . 2007-02-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150913082839/http://www.somali-civilsociety.org/downloads/press/List%20Cabinet%20Ministers%208_%20Jan_05.pdf . September 13, 2015 .
  9. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications//chiefs/chiefs164.html Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments
  10. Ahmed Mohamed, "Somali president flown to Kenya hospital", Reuters (IOL), December 4, 2007.