Qamar Aden Ali ( so, Qamar Aadan Cali, ar, قمر آدم علي) (b. 19 September 1957 – d. 3 December 2009) was a Somali lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. She was assassinated whilst serving as the Minister of Health in the

Transitional Federal Government The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) ( so, Dowladda Federaalka Kumeelgaarka, ar, الحكومة الاتحادية الانتقالية) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Republic of Somalia from 14 October ...

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 ...

Biography

Qamar was born on 19 September 1957 in a small village outside of

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 ...

, the capital of Somalia. She was the third of 11 children. Qamar spent her childhood in Mogadishu, where she also went to school and graduated from college. She subsequently moved abroad to

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

to study

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, and later studied law in England. She eventually passed the bar as a lawyer and became a British citizen. In the mid-1990s, Qamar returned to her native Somalia, where she later joined the nation's

. From 2007 until her death, she served as the national Minister of Health.

Assassination

On 3 December 2009, Qamar, along with Minister of Education Ahmed Abdulahi Waayeel and Minister of Higher Education Ibrahim Hassan Addow, was killed in a suicide bombing at the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu. They had been attending a Benadir University graduation ceremony, while the male bomber had passed through security dressed as a woman in an Islamic

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

. The bombing was subsequently called a "national disaster" by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Sharif Sheikh Ahmed ( so, Shariif Sheekh Axmed, ar, شريف شيخ أحمد; born 25 July 1964) is a Somali politician who served as President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. He is the founder and leader of Himilo Qaran political party and ...

. Qamar spoke to her brother, Mohamed Aden Ali, several hours before the attack. She had been attempting to convince him to return to Somalia for the new doctors programme. Following her death, he decided to continue Qamar's plans, saying "The legacy of my sister will go on, we will not stop. Let them know: The people of Somalia, they are ready to die, they are courageous people. We will never stop to give service to our people."

Legacy

There is a school named in her honour and this was to be renovated in 2018 as announced by the Somali Minister Deqa Yasin in November 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Qamar Aden 2009 deaths Deaths by explosive device Terrorism deaths in Somalia Assassinated Somalian politicians Government ministers of Somalia People murdered in Somalia Somalian murder victims 1957 births Women government ministers of Somalia 21st-century Somalian women politicians 21st-century Somalian politicians 2009 murders in Somalia 2000s assassinated politicians in Africa