Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, one of the front-runners in Somalia’s Presidential election 2022

Last updated on May 14th, 2022 at 06:54 am

Sharif’s legal career

Sharif arrived in Somalia in 2000, at a time when the country was ruled by warlords and allies who could not meet in Mogadishu due to clan divisions and mistrust. The legacy of civil war in Somalia has been felt, and Sharif aspires to save his country and his people. In Mogadishu, he founded the Al Shuruuq Agency, a cultural and historical organization as well as a youth liaison organization that facilitated integration into the Somali youth community that never crossed the borders of warlords. As a result, Mogadishu citizens began to distance themselves from the barriers between friends, classmates, and the elderly, allowing people to come together and better express their views. From 2001 to 2002, Sharif served as a prosecutor in his home region of Middle Shabelle, serving as chairman of the regional court in Jowhar.

His success in the presidency

President Sharif was sworn in on the same day at the Kempinski Hotel in Djibouti after winning the January 31, 2009 elections. The Horn of Africa country joins the UN-funded peace process. The United Nations Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has praised the presidential election as “transparent”. In a statement, Ould-Abdallah said, “We are finally seeing the progress of all parties in the hard work of building an inclusive parliament.”

He briefly liberated the Somali capital, Mogadishu, from al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab terrorists.

Sharif’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has succeeded in ousting Al Shabaab from the capital and its environs, and providing security, peace, and reconciliation during the difficult transition period. On August 6, 2011, al-Shabaab was ousted from Mogadishu, with Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, al-Shabaab’s spokesman, saying the move was a change of pace, adding that the withdrawal was limited to Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab was defeated by the Somali President, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. He warned civilians not to visit al-Shabaab strongholds, as explosives may have been planted. Meanwhile, Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has warned troops and anyone else not to try to loot people’s property.

He drafted an interim constitution for the country, which he is still working on until today.

After several days of deliberation, the Somali Federal Government and regional leaders convened again on June 23, 2012, and accepted a draft constitution. The new constitution was unanimously approved by the National Constituent Assembly on August 1, with 96 percent voting in favor, 2% voting against, and 2% abstaining.