 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2023) |
Siad Barre | |
|---|---|
Maxamed Siyaad Barre محمد زياد بري 𐒑𐒖𐒄𐒖𐒑𐒗𐒆 𐒈𐒘𐒕𐒛𐒆 𐒁𐒖𐒇𐒇𐒗 | |
 | |
| 1st Chairman of the Somali Revolutionary Council | |
| In office 21 October 1969 – 1 July 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Office Abolished |
| 3rd President of Somalia | |
| In office 21 October 1969 – 26 January 1991 | |
| Vice President | |
| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by | Ali Mahdi Muhammad |
| 1st General Secretary of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party | |
| In office 26 June 1976 – 26 January 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Office Abolished |
| 12th Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity | |
| In office 12 June 1974 – 28 July 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Yakubu Gowon |
| Succeeded by | Idi Amin |
| 1st Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Somali Armed Forces | |
| In office 21 October 1969 – 26 January 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Office Abolished |
| 2nd Commander-in-Chief of the Somali National Army | |
| In office 20 April 1965 – 25 November 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Daud Abdulle Hirsi |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Ali Samatar |
| 1st Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Somali National Army | |
| In office 12 April 1960 – 20 April 1965 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Mohamed Ainanshe Guled |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mohammed Siad Barre c. 6 October 1909 Shilavo, Ogaden[1] |
| Died | 2 January 1995 (aged 85) Lagos, Nigeria |
| Resting place | Garbaharey, Gedo, Somalia |
| Nationality | Somali |
| Political party |
|
| Spouses |
|
| Relations |
|
| Children |
|
| Parents |
|
| Alma mater | Military Academy of Modena |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
|
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1935–1992 |
| Rank |  Major general |
| Commands |
|
| Battles/wars | |
Mohammed Siad Barre (Somali: Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: 𐒑𐒖𐒄𐒖𐒑𐒗𐒆 𐒈𐒘𐒕𐒛𐒆 𐒁𐒖𐒇𐒇𐒗, Arabic: محمد زياد بري Muhammad Ziād Barīy; c. 6 October 1909 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 January 1991.
Barre, the commander of the Somali National Army, became president of Somalia after the 1969 coup d'état that overthrew the Somali Republic following the assassination of President Abdirashid Shermarke. The Supreme Revolutionary Council military junta under Barre reconstituted Somalia as a one-party Marxist–Leninist communist state, renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic and adopted scientific socialism. Barre spoke three languages, English, Somali and Italian.
Barre's early rule was characterised by attempts at widespread modernization, nationalization of banks and industry, promotion of cooperative farms, a new writing system for the Somali language, and anti-tribalism. In 1976, the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party became the country's vanguard party. The following year Barre launched the Ogaden War against Ethiopia's Derg regime, supporting the Western Somali Liberation Front on a platform of Somali nationalism and pan-Somalism. Barre's popularity was highest during the seven months between September 1977 and March 1978 when Barre captured virtually the entirety of the Somali region.[2] It declined from the late-1970s following Somalia's defeat in the Ogaden War, triggering the Somali Rebellion and severing ties with the Soviet Union. Somalia then allied itself with the Western powers and especially the United States for the remainder of the Cold War, although it maintained its Marxist–Leninist regime and also drew close to China.
Opposition grew in the 1980s due to his increasingly dictatorial rule, growth of tribal politics, abuses of the National Security Service including the Isaaq genocide, and the sharp decline of Somalia's economy. In 1991, Barre's government collapsed as the Somali Rebellion successfully ejected him from power, leading to the Somali Civil War and a massive power vacuum in its wake. Barre was forced into exile in Nigeria, where he died in 1995 on the way to the hospital after suffering a heart attack.[3][4][5]
- ^ Kingsley, Charles (22 May 2012). A Vet in Somalia. Xlibris Corporation. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-4771-0284-8. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Yihun, Belete Belachew (2014). "Ethiopian foreign policy and the Ogaden War: the shift from "containment" to "destabilization," 1977–1991". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 8 (4): 677–691. doi:10.1080/17531055.2014.947469. ISSN 1753-1055. S2CID 145481251.
- ^ Library of Congress. Federal Research Division (1993). "Siad Barre and Scientific Socialism". In Metz, Helen Chapin (ed.). Somalia: A Country Study. U.S. Government Publishing Office. ISBN 9780844407753. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ Library of Congress. Federal Research Division (1993). "Siad Barre's Repressive Measures". In Metz, Helen Chapin (ed.). Somalia: A Country Study. U.S. Government Publishing Office. ISBN 9780844407753.
- ^ Library of Congress. Federal Research Division (1993). "The Social Order". In Metz, Helen Chapin (ed.). Somalia: A Country Study. U.S. Government Publishing Office. ISBN 9780844407753.