President Aden Abdullah Osman Daar
1st President of Somalia 1960-1967, Somalian 1908-2007
Place of BirthSomalia, Africa
Daar was born near the Ogaden in the town of Belet Weyne to a Mudulood Hawiye family.
When Somalia gained its independence on July 1, 1960, he was elected as the nation's first president. In the 1967 presidential election, Daar was defeated by Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, his former Prime Minister. His term as president ended on June 10, 1967. Shermarke was assassinated two years later; the slaying led to an unopposed, bloodless coup d'état by the Somali Army on October 21, 1969, the day after Shermarke's funeral. Spearheading the putsch was Major General Muhammad Siad Barre, Commander of the Army.
In 1990, with the country edging towards anarchy, Daar and about 100 other Somali politicians signed a manifesto expressing concern over the destruction of property and land, murders, and the flight of refugees as a result of the civil war in Somalia. He was arrested along with more than 50 others by Barre's faltering regime.
When Somalia gained its independence on July 1, 1960, he was elected as the nation's first president. In the 1967 presidential election, Daar was defeated by Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, his former Prime Minister. His term as president ended on June 10, 1967. Shermarke was assassinated two years later; the slaying led to an unopposed, bloodless coup d'état by the Somali Army on October 21, 1969, the day after Shermarke's funeral. Spearheading the putsch was Major General Muhammad Siad Barre, Commander of the Army.
In 1990, with the country edging towards anarchy, Daar and about 100 other Somali politicians signed a manifesto expressing concern over the destruction of property and land, murders, and the flight of refugees as a result of the civil war in Somalia. He was arrested along with more than 50 others by Barre's faltering regime.