Mohamed Said Samatar محمد سعيد سمتر | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1928-09-05)September 5, 1928 |
| Died | March 8, 1995(1995-03-08) (aged 66) |
Mohamed Said Samantar "Ga'lie - Gacaliye" was a Somali politician.
He was born inWerder, and grew up in a town in easternEthiopia. While very young, he participated in the fight for his country's independence. In 1947 he joined theSomali Youth League, a movement opposing the British occupation.[1] After attending normal school, he became an elementary teacher, then worked forBBC Somali and Radio Mogadishu and, in 1958, went toRome, where he was placed in charge ofRAI's Africa and Somali Service (Italian Radio Broadcasting and Television Company) broadcasts toAfrica.
While in Rome, he studied political science and in February 1964, he obtained his PhD in political science fromSapienza University of Rome and joined the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to theEuropean Economic Community inBrussels from 1964 to 1966, toItaly and the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) in Rome from 1969 to 1974, and to the French Government inParis from 1974 to 1979.
He was one of the main Somali architects and strategists for Djibouti's independence from France in 1977. He was later appointed minister of state at the presidency inMogadishu in 1979 and placed in charge of relations with the Western powers in a particularly touchy regional and international context involving the commitment of theSoviet Union andCuba on behalf ofEthiopia. He handed in his resignation in Paris in September 1981.
He was a neutral figure at the onset of the Somali civil war, but later on he contributed to the founding of the SNF group and was in very good terms with many of the new Ethiopian leaders that took over after the demise of Mengistu's regime in May 1991, particularly with the then President Meles Ato Zenawi.
He was among the very few decent Somali politicians, a voice of moderation and a lover and supporter of the arts and artists, before and during the Somali strife. He left behind many writings, poems and famous songs.
He died on March 8, 1995, in Sceaux, France, after a long struggle against liver cancer and was buried at the Cimetière parisien de Thiais on March 13, 1995.
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Mohamed Said Samatar" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This article about aSomali politician is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |