Hussein Shire ( so, Xuseen Shire, ar, حسين شاير) was a Somali entrepreneur. He was the owner and CEO of the Gateway Bus Company.

Personal life

Shire was born between 1928 and 1929 in Galkaio,

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

to ethnic Somali parents. He comes from a middle-class background, and belongs to the

Sheekhaal The Sheekhaal (var. Sheikhaal ( ar, شيخال), also known as Fiqi Omar, is a Somali clan. They inhabit Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and with considerable numbers also found in the North Eastern Province (Kenya), Northern Frontier District (NFD ...

Hawiye The Hawiye ( so, Hawiye, ar, بنو هوية, it, Hauija) is the largest Somali clan family. Members of this clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia ( Somali, Harar, Oromia and Afar regions) and the Nor ...

clan. He was married to Mariam Hussein, with whom he had nine children; five boys and four girls. Shire spent much of his life running his business empire. On 28 June 2014, he died in a hospital in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

after undergoing knee surgery. According to relatives, he had also been battling a number of kidney-related ailments. Shire was 85 years old.

Career

Shire started his career in the transport industry, ferrying passengers in a blue Peugeot 504 car. He also owned a grocery shop, and would sell sodas and ice to travellers. According to his son, Abdullahi Shire, Hussein Shire was among a handful of entrepreneurs to start businesses in the area during the 1950s. With profits from his shop and the Peugeot business, Shire bought a minibus and a trailer. In the 1980s, he established the Gateway Bus Company, his first large firm. Serving as its owner and CEO, Gateway grew into one of the largest bus companies in Uganda, with more than 100 buses operating all over the country. Gateway now also operates routes to Kenya and South Sudan. Besides that firm, Shire also owned a number of other businesses. Among these were Shire Petroleum, real estate, Hussein Stores, a shop located along Tagore Road in Tororo, and a 2,000 acre sugarcane plantation that supplied Kakira Sugar Works and Mayuge Sugar Works.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shire, Hussein 1920s births 2014 deaths Ethnic Somali people Somalian businesspeople