Jama Ali Korshel ( so, Jaamac Cali Qoorsheel, ar, جامع علي قورشيل) was a
Somali army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
and former Head of the
Somali Police Force
)
, mission =
, formedyear =
, formedmonthday =
, preceding1 = Police Corps of Somalia (1910–1960)
, employees =
, volunteers =
, budget =
, nongovernment =
, country ...
. He was the
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
of the
Supreme Revolutionary Council.
Biography
Korshel was born in the town of
Erigavo
Erigavo ( so, Ceerigaabo, ), also spelled as Erigabo, is the capital and largest city of the Sanaag region of Somaliland.
History
The Erigavo settlement is several centuries old. The surrounding area was supposedly built by the Madigan Dir. ...
, situated in the eastern
Sanaag
Sanag ( so, Sanaag, ar, سَنَاج) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north eastern Somaliland.[Regions o ...](_blank)
region of Somaliland. Korshel completed the Quran in Erigavo and started school at
SOS Sheikh Secondary School The former SOS Sheikh Secondary School (currently known as Pharo Sheikh Secondary School) is situated near the town of Sheikh in a remote part of the country Somaliland, and a three-hour drive from the country's capital, Hargeisa. The once-renowned ...
to finish his middle school education. The SOS Sheikh Secondary School is situated near the town of Sheikh in a remote part of present day
Somaliland. Korshel finished his high school studies in Aden, Yemen. After completing high school Korshel went back to northern Somalia and joined the police force. He was given a scholarship to go to the National Police College in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, England to complete his training.
He was a leader in the
Somali National League
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, ...
(SNL) when
British Somaliland gained its independence in 1960. Following the establishment of the
Somali Republic
The Somali Republic ( so, Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliyeed; it, Repubblica Somala; ar, الجمهورية الصومالية, Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmālīyyah) was a sovereign state composed of Somalia and Somaliland, following the unification o ...
and the assassination of the young nation's second president,
Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Korshel would later emerge as one of the key figures in the
1969 Somali coup d'état
The 1969 Somali coup d'état was the bloodless takeover of Somalia's government on 21 October 1969 by far-left military officers of the Supreme Revolutionary Council led by Siad Barre. Somali troops supported by tanks under the command of Barre ...
which saw the
military junta
A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
of
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Mohamed Siad Barre
Mohamed Siad Barre ( so, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: ; ar, محمد سياد بري; c. 1910 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali head of state and general who served as the 3rd president of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 199 ...
take power. He was appointed vice president of the new
Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed office, and put in charge of Internal Affairs.
In 1970, an alleged
counter-coup d'état attempt, reportedly masterminded by Korshel, was uncovered. Korshel was subsequently arrested in April 1971,
[Burke, p.233] until 1975, when he was released from prison. Korshel later embarked on a business career.
He died in 1989 in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and was subsequently flown to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
, where a religious ceremony was held in his honor before finally being laid to rest in
Mogadishu
Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
.
Korshel's son,
Said Korshel, would later follow in his father's footsteps, entering politics and serving in the
Puntland
Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...
regional administration as a minister between 2002-2007 and the federal Government of Somalia as Minister of Transportation.
See also
*
Siad Barre
*
Salaad Gabeyre Kediye
Salaad Gabeyre Kediye ( so, Salaad Gabeyre Kediye, 1933 – 3 July 1972), also known as Salah Gaveire Kedie, was a Somali senior military official and a revolutionary who was executed by the Siad Barre regime.
Biography
Kediye was born in Harard ...
*
Mohamed Ainanshe Guled
Notes
References
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korshel, Jama
Vice presidents of Somalia
Somalian military leaders
Somalian police chiefs
Year of death missing
Year of birth missing
Somalian generals