SOMALIA: Aden Abdullah Osman, Somalia's first president and considered by some to be the first African leader democratically elected, is buried in Mogadishu

Record ID: 439761

  • Title: SOMALIA: Aden Abdullah Osman, Somalia's first president and considered by some to be the first African leader democratically elected, is buried in Mogadishu
  • Date: 12th June 2007
  • Summary: (AD1) MOGADISHU, SOMALI (JUNE 11, 2007) (REUTERS) PLANE CARRYING REMAINS OF ADAN ABDULLE OSMAN, SOMALIA'S FIRST PRESIDENT, DRIVING ON THE TARMAC ABDULAHI YUSUF AHMED, SOMALI PRESIDENT, WALKING
  • Embargoed: 27th June 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Somalia
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACAV6SBZT5LOHN0LGL131T3PMD
  • Story Text: Aden Abdullah Osman, Somalia's first president and considered by some to be the first African leader democratically elected, is buried in Mogadishu. Osman voluntarily relinquish power after losing elections in 1967, being the only peaceful handover and democratic election Somalia has ever known.
    The remains of Somalia's first President Adan Abdulle Osman, were flown to Mogadishu from Nairobi on Monday (June 11) where he was accorded a state funeral.
    The Interim President of Somalia, Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed, the Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi and former presidents of Somalia, Ali Mahdi Mohamed and Abdulqasim Salad attended the funeral.
    Osman, Somalia's only effective democratically elected leader, died in a hospital in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi on Friday (June 8) aged 99 years old. His remains were interred at a northern suburb of Mogadishu. He is survived by 8 children.
    "He was a great man, and a patriot, and gave every body equal rights and I also know how he behaved within in his family," said Hawa Awale, a retired parliamentarian who served under Osman.
    Somalia's cabinet voted on Saturday (June 9) to rename the Mogadishu international airport the Adan Abdulle Osman International Airport of Mogadishu. The country will also observe a 21-day mourning period during which the Somalia flag will be flown at half mast.
    Osman was a nationalist politician during the colonial era and was elected president in 1960, after the former Italian colony of Somalia and British Somaliland merged to form the modern state.
    "He was a straight man, and at the time of voting he would not take bribes, he said, 'you should vote for the one you favour', he respected democracy," said 90-year-old Mohamed Salah, a member of the defunct Somalia Youth League (SYL), Osman's political party.
    Osman stepped down after his defeat at the polls in 1967, becoming the first African leader in the post-colonial era to do so and the last in any effective Somali government since then.
    "He had respect of the people and the country, and he was the first African president who hand over power democratically, and we will remember that," said Mohamoud Ahmed, a resident of Mogadishu.
    Some Somalis are urging their leaders and other African presidents to follow Osman's example.
    "I want to advise presidents of African countries to rule according to the people's choice not their own choice just like the first president of Somalia did," said Ahmed Abdihe, another Mogadishu resident.
    In 1969, dictator Mohamed Siad Barre seized power and ruled until 1991, when warlords toppled him and ushered in anarchy that the current interim government -- the 14th attempt at national rule since then -- is trying to end.
    The interim government took the capital Mogadishu from militant Islamists who sought to govern Somalia by Islamic law early this year.
    During the funeral, security was heightened with hundreds of Somalian and Ethiopian soldiers deployed to guard major roads against attacks by Islamic insurgents; a sign of how much things have changed since Osman ruled the country.
    Osman's friends and family say he was saddened by the years of civil strife that have characterised Somalia since his rule.
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