Discover

'Mohamed Siad Barre' (Somali: 'Maxamed Siyaad Barre') (1919 – January 2, 1995) was the Head of State of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. Prior to his presidency he was an army commander under the democratic government of Somalia which had been in place since independence in June 1960. During his rule, he styled himself 'Jaalle Siyaad' (Comrade Siad). In ''Af Soomaali'', when addressing a gentleman, the title J/lle is given short for Jaalle, and it roughly correspondes to the title Mister or Mr. for short. This played an important role in the newly developed written Somali language.

Contents

Early life

Head of state

Death

Quotes

Notes

Early life

Barre was born into the Marehan clan near Shilabo, Ethiopia, although he later claimed to have been born in Garbahaarreey in order to qualify for the Italian colonial police force.^[2] Before he joined the police force, Barre had been an orphaned shepherd. He had no formal education, but attended some military courses in Italy. He became the Vice Commander of Somalia's Army when the country gained independence from Italy in 1960. Barre became an advocate of Soviet style Marxist government after spending time with Soviet officers in joint training exercises in the early 1960s.

Head of state

In 1969, during the power vacuum following the assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, the military staged a coup on October 21, 1969 (the day after Shermarke's funeral), and took over. Barre was to rule for the next twenty-two years. He established a pervasive personality cult, assuming titles such as ''macallinka'' (teacher), ''aabaha aqoonta'' (father of knowledge),^[3] and ''Guulwaadde'' (Victorious Leader).^[4] Large posters of him, many of which can still be seen today, were common in the capital Mogadishu during his regime.
One of the earliest deeds of his regime was to introduce the Somali language as the education delivery language. All education in government schools had to be conducted in Somali. This was necessary as there was a growing rift between those who spoke the colonial languages, and those that did not. Many of the high ranking positions in the government were given to those people that spoke either Italian or English. To keep everyone on an even playing field, the Somali language was finally written down. The Latin alphabet was selected as the means for writing the language. The establishment of the Somali language as a national language, created a new confidence in the masses. In 1972, the second anniversary of the military government, all government employees were ordered to learn to write and read ''Af Soomaali'' within six months.
Siad Barre also championed the concept of a Greater Somalia, which intended to unite all ethnic Somalis in one nation state. Thus he aimed to incorporating Djibouti, the Somali region of Kenya and most importantly the Ogaden, which was part of Ethiopia but was inhabited by ethnic Somalis, into the Somalian state.
The Somali national army invaded the Ogaden and was at first very successful, capturing most of the Ogaden. This first phase was ended by the Soviet Union's sudden shift of support to Ethiopia, followed by almost the entire communist world siding with Ethiopia. The Soviets began to distribute aid, weapons, and training to the Ethiopians, and also brought in Cubans to assist the Ethiopian regime. Ultimately Somali troops were pushed out of Ethiopia.
Control of Somalia was of great interest to the Soviet Union and the United States due to its strategic location at the entrance to the Red Sea. After the Soviets abandoned Barre, he subsequently expelled all Soviet advisors, tore up his friendship treaty with the Soviet Union, and switched his allegiance to the West. The United States stepped in, and until 1989 was a strong supporter of the Barre government, providing approximately US$100 million per year in economic and military aid.
On the international front, Siad Barre played an important role in 17 October and 18 October, 1977 when a PFLP group hijacked Lufthansa flight 181 to Mogadishu, Somalia, holding 86 hostages. West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and Barre negotiated a deal to allow a GSG-9 anti-terrorist unit into Mogadishu to free the hostages.
Barre's government was plagued with various clan-based rebel groups. In the north of the country, the Isaaq clan was discontented with the fact that they were sidelined. The Isaaq clan developed a rebel group named the SNM, who were supported morally and financially by Ethiopia. In order to combat these rebels, there were many raids against the north. Also in the north, there was a rebel group called the SSDF, which was led by Abdullahi Yusuf. Clan based militias, particularly Majerten and Hawiye started a campaign of immense proportions of killings, rape and torture in the northern and middle regions of Somalia. In the late 1980s, rival factional groups began to make substantial territorial gains, especially in the northern Somaliland region. These rebels received aid from Ethiopia in hopes of overthrowing the Somali government. By 1991, the situation in Mogadishu was very dire. The rebels, led by warlord Aidid and his rebel group, the USC attacked Mogadishu. Aidid fought against government foces, and Barre was finally overthrown on the evening of 26 January 1991. He was succeeded by Ali Mahdi Muhammad, another warlord of the Hawiye clan until November 1991, but Ali Mahdi's government never managed to exert political or military control over most of the country as by then, Somalia was thrown into chaos. Ali Mahdi and Aideed's personal militia and clans fought against each other, both vying for President.

Death

After leaving Mogadishu in January 1991, Barre temporarily remained in the southwestern region of the country controlled by his son-in-law Mohammed Said Hersi. He twice attempted to retake Mogadishu, but in May 1991, he was overwhelmed by General Muhammed Farrah Aidid's army, and went into exile. He initially moved to Nairobi, but opposition groups there protested his presence and support by the Kenyan government, so he moved to Nigeria only two weeks later. He died on January 2, 1995 in Lagos, Nigeria from a heart attack and his remains were buried in Garbahaarreey state of Gedo Somalia. As of 2007, Somalia has had no real national leader nor any effective national government since Siad Barre was deposed.
Since the fall of the Siad Barre government, no less than 13 attempts were made to help establish a sound government in Somalia. But no substantial gains were made on any of those peace conferences. The first one was held in Djibouti.

Quotes

"In our Revolution we believe that we have broken the chain of a consumer economy based on imports, and we are free to decide our destiny. And in order to realize the interests of the Somali people, their achievement of a better life, the full development of their potentialities and the fulfillment of their aspirations, we solemnly declare Somalia to be a Socialist State."
- Siad Barre proclaims Somalia a socialist state, October 20, 1970^[5]
"When I came to Mogadishu...[t]here was one road built by the Italians. If you try to force me to stand down, I will leave the city as I found it. I came to power with a gun; only the gun can make me go."^[6]

Notes

1. Obituary: Siad Barre
2. David D. Laitin and Said S. Samatar, ''Somalia: Nation in Search of a State'' (Boulder: Westview Press 1987), p. 79
3. Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, ''Culture and Customs of Somalia'', p. 34
4. ''Somalia: A Country Study'', "Siad Barre and Scientific Socialism"
5. ''Somalia: A Country Study'', "Scientific Socialism, 1970-1975"
6. Abdullahi, p. 41