Aden Robleh Awaleh
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aden Robleh Awaleh ()(1941 – 31 October 2014.) was a
Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
an politician and President of the National Democratic Party (PND).''Political Parties of the World'' (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, pages 180–181. He was a member of the
National Assembly of Djibouti The National Assembly, formerly known as the Chamber of Deputies, is the unicameral legislative branch of the government of Djibouti. Overview It consists of 65 members – 30 Somali (21 Issa) and 30 Afar – elected to serve five-year terms ...
. Awaleh, an Issa, was born in Ali-Sabieh. After secondary studies in Djibouti, Aden Robleh Awaleh studied law in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
and then in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
between 1963 and 1968. He was secretary general of the association of Djiboutian students and interns in France from 1965 to 1967. At the end of his university studies, Aden Robleh Awaleh returned to Djibouti at the beginning of 1969, he went to
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 ...
in 1969 and became the leader of the
Front for the Liberation of the Somali Coast Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music *The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...
(FLCS). As a result of his activities, he was convicted of "endangering state security" ''
in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...
'' by the French authorities in 1970 and sentenced to 27 years in prison. He was later arrested in Somalia in 1975 for "anti-revolutionary" activities and spent a year in solitary confinement there. He was attacked and injured on June 24, 1977, three days before Djibouti became independent from France; his injuries caused him to be hospitalized for a year. In the period following independence, he was a member of the government, Vice-President of the
Popular Rally for Progress The People's Rally for Progress ( ar, التجمع الشعبي من أجل التقدم; french: Rassemblement populaire pour le Progrès, RPP) is a political party in Djibouti. It has dominated politics in the country since 1979, initially under ...
(RPR) ruling party, and a member of the RPR Political Bureau. He was included in the first post-independence government, named on July 15, 1977, as Minister of the Port, and he was subsequently moved to the position of Minister of Commerce, Transport, and Tourism in 1978. He was also elected to the National Assembly in 1982. In 1983, he denounced the authoritarianism of the RPR's single-party regime and resigned from his government and party positions. A book written by Awaleh, ''Djibouti: Key to the Red Sea'' (''Djibouti Clef de la Mer Rouge''), was published in February 1986. He clandestinely left Djibouti in May 1986 and went into exile in France. As an exiled opposition leader, he founded the Djiboutian National Movement for the Establishment of Democracy and the Union of Democratic Movements while in France. In Djibouti, he was accused of "attempting to destabilize the government and murder senior officials" and was sentenced ''in absentia'' to life in prison on September 7, 1986, along with two others. In 1992, Awaleh founded the National Democratic Party (PND) in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
."Djibouti: Political opposition parties (This Response replaces an earlier version dated 13 January 1999.)
", Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (UNHCR Refworld), DJI31018.FE, 1 February 1999.
Immediately after a successful referendum was held on the introduction of multiparty politics, Awaleh announced on September 7, 1992, that he intended to return to Djibouti within days and would seek the legalization of his National Democratic Party (PND). The PND was then established in Djibouti on September 13, 1992. He received 12% of the vote in the May 1993 presidential election, placing third; along with the other opposition candidates, he denounced the election as fraudulent. On October 27, 1995, a PND protest was broken up by the police and Awaleh was among those arrested. Accused of organizing an illegal protest, he received a
suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
of one month imprisonment in November 1995. At this time, he was the head of an opposition coalition, the Union of Democratic Movements. He stood as the first candidate on the PND's candidate list for
Ali Sabieh Region Ali Sabieh Region ( ar, إقليم على صبيح, so, Gobolka Cali Sabiix) is a region in southern Djibouti. With a mainland area of 2,400 square kilometres (900 sq mi), it lies along the national border with Somaliland and Ethiopia, bordering ...
(the only district in which the party presented candidates) in the December 1997 parliamentary election, but the party did not win any seats. The PND experienced internal division in the late 1990s. In May 1997, Awaleh suspended PND spokesman Farah Ali Wabert from the party, a move that reportedly exacerbated the situation. By November 1998, a rival leadership under Mahdi Ahmed Abdillahié controlled the PND headquarters, and in December 1998 Awaleh was reported to be missing. The factions apparently reconciled by 2002. In September 1998, Awaleh accused
Ismail Omar Guelleh Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
of working to make Djibouti a colony of
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. Awaleh and the PND supported opposition candidate
Moussa Ahmed Idriss Moussa (sometimes spelled Mousa) is both a given name and a surname. It is a French language, Gallicized spelling of the Arabic name ''Musa (name), Mūsā'' ( ar, موسی, "Moses"). Notable people with the name include: Given name: Moussa * Moussa ...
in the April 1999 presidential election; Guelleh officially won the election with 75% of the vote, but Awaleh alleged that this was due to "massive fraud" and said that Idris had actually won. During the election, he served on the district supervision commission in Ali-Sabieh District as Idris' representative. Awaleh was denied a
passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
on June 5, 2000, preventing him from travelling to
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
for an African Leadership Forum. In April 2001, Awaleh was convicted and given a six-year suspended sentence for alleged involvement in a terrorist attack at the Cafe du Paris in Djibouti in 1990; although prosecutors said that Awaleh was the leading figure in the plot, he was given the lightest sentence of the four defendants. Awaleh and the PND left the opposition and participated in the January 2003 parliamentary election as part of the ruling coalition, the Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP), which won all the seats in the National Assembly. Awaleh was included as the seventh candidate on the UMP's candidate list for the District of Djibouti and therefore won a seat. On March 10, 2004, Awaleh was chosen by the National Assembly as one of Djibouti's five members of the
Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...
(PAP); as a result, he was present for the opening of the PAP later in the month, and he was elected as a member of the Pan-African Parliament's ''ad hoc'' committee responsible for verification of powers. In the National Assembly of Djibouti, he has served as a member of the Legislation and General Administration Commission. Awaleh and the PND supported Guelleh in the April 2005 presidential election. On February 21, 2007, Awaleh was re-elected as President of the PND. He was a member of the general staff of the UMP's campaign for the February 2008 parliamentary election. In the same election, he was the fourth candidate on the UMP's candidate list for the District of Djibouti. He was re-elected to a seat, and after the election, he was designated as the representative of the National Assembly in the Pan-African Parliament on 25 February 2008."Désignation des présidents des Commissions de l’Assemblée Nationale"
ADI, 25 February 2008 .
Awaleh and the PND split from the ruling coalition in 2010 after Guelleh pushed through constitutional changes allowing him to run for a third term. The party re-joined the opposition and boycotted of the 2011 election. In the February 2013 elections, he was re-elected to the National Assembly on the lists of the Union for National Salvation (USN opposition). Despite the decision of his movement to establish a "parallel Parliament", he sits from June. He died in Djibouti on October 31, 2014, and was buried in Ali Sabieh.


See also

*
List of members of the Pan-African Parliament A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awaleh, Aden Robleh 1941 births Members of the National Assembly (Djibouti) Members of the Pan-African Parliament from Djibouti 2014 deaths Djiboutian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Somalia People from Ali Sabieh Region National Democratic Party (Djibouti) politicians Djiboutian expatriates in France Deaths in Djibouti