Abdi Ismail Samatar
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Abdi Ismail Samatar ( so, Cabdi Ismaaciil Samatar, ar, عبدي إسماعيل ساماتار) (born 1950) is a
Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somali ...
scholar, writer and professor of geography.


Personal life

Samatar was born in 1956 in
Gabiley Gabiley ( so, Gabiley, ar, غابيلي), also known as Gebiley, is a city in the Maroodi Jeex region of Somaliland. Gabiley is located 58 km west of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. It is in the center of the Gabiley district, bounded ...
in
Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
. He is the brother of scholar and politician Ahmed Ismail Samatar. For his tertiary education, Samatar earned an A.B. from the
University of Wisconsin–La Crosse The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (UWL or UW Lax) is a public university in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Established in 1909, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. With 9,600 un ...
in 1979. He later obtained a MCRP in Urban/Regional Planning from the
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of th ...
in 1981. In 1985, he completed a PhD from the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
. Samatar is
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
.


Career

Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, Samatar was a lecturer at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...
. He later joined the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
's faculty, serving as a professor of
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
and chair of the institution's geography department. He has authored several books centered on democracy and development in the
Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004 ...
and the developing world. In 2000, his non-fiction work ''An African Miracle'' was a finalist for the year's Herskovits Prize. In Spring 2003, Samatar was the Chair of the Harmonization Committee of the Somali Charter: Somali Reconciliation – Independent Committee. In 2013–2014, he also served as the President of the African Studies Association. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest or contributor at various international media outlets, including
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...
, PBS,
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...
, the BBC,
Radio France International Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...
,
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...
, TV Channel 5 and Somali TV Minneapolis. On January 30 he was appointed to leader of the election commission to oversee the integrity of the Somalia presidential elections that were held 8 February 2017.


Awards

Samatar has received various awards for his work, including: *University of Minnesota President's Award for Service, 2018 *University of Minnesota Somali Student Association Award, 2017 *University of Minnesota Outstanding Community Service Award, 2004 *Finalist, Herskovits Award of the African Studies Association for ''An African Miracle'', 2000 *Fulbright Scholar Award, 1993/4 and 1999 *Design Achievement Award in recognition for substantial contribution to the field of Community and Regional Planning,
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of th ...
, October 20, 2000 *Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Teaching and Leadership in Community-University Collaboration, University of Minnesota, 1997 *Collegiate Teaching Award, University of Iowa, 1989–90


Professional memberships

Samatar's professional memberships include: *Editorial Board, ''African Geographic Review Journal'' *Editorial Board, ''Bildan: Somali Studies Journal'' *Member, board of directors of African Studies Association, 2002–2004 *President of African Studies Association, 2013–2014 *Committee member, MacArthur Compton Fellowships *Graduate Education Policy


Selected works

*''Africa’s First Democrats: Somalia’s Aden A. Osman and Abdirazak H. Hussen''. Abdi Ismail Samatar, 2016 *''The African State: Reconsideration''. Samatar, Abdi, Ahmed Samatar, Co-Editor, 2002. *''An African Miracle: State and Class Leadership and Colonial Legacy in Botswana''. Samatar, Abdi, Heinemann, 1999. *"The Dialectics of Piracy in Somalia: the Poor versus the Rich". Samatar, Abdi, Third World Quarterly, December 2010. *"Faithless Power as Fraticide: Is there an Alternative in Somalia?" Samatar, Abdi, International Journal of Somali Studies, 9 63–81, 2009. *"Back to the Future". Samatar, Abdi, BBC Focus on Africa Magazine, July–September 34–5, 2008. *"Debating Somali Identity in a British Tribunal". The BBC Somali Service. Samatar, Abdi, Author, 2007. *"The Islamic Courts and the Mogadishu Miracle: What comes Next for Somalia". Samatar, Abdi, Review of African political Economy, Fall 2006. *"The Ethiopian Election of 2005: A Bombshell & Turning Point". Samatar, Abdi, Review of African Political Economy, 104/5, 2005. *''Ethiopian Federalism: Autonomy versus Control in the Somali Region''. Samatar, Abdi, Author, 2004. *''Editorial of Somali Reconciliation''. Samatar, Abdi, Ahmed Samatar, 2003. *''Somalis as Africa's First Democrats''. Samatar, Abdi, Ahmed Samatar, 2002. *''Local Initiatives and Somali Reconstruction''. Samatar, Abdi, 2001. *''Social Transformation and Islamic Reinterpretation in Northern Somalia: The Women's Mosque in Gabiley''. Samatar, Abdi, 2000. *''Ethnicity and leadership in the making of African state models: Botswana versus Somalia''. Samatar, Abdi, 1997.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samatar, Abdi Ismail American foreign policy writers Somalian non-fiction writers Somalists 1950 births Living people Foreign policy writers Somalian educators Somalian historians American geographers American people of Somali descent University of Minnesota faculty University of Wisconsin–La Crosse alumni Iowa State University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century Somalian people 21st-century Somalian people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century geographers 21st-century geographers 20th-century American educators 21st-century American educators 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers People from Maroodi Jeex Gadabuursi Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences