Faysal Ali Warabe ( ; so, Faysal Cali Waraabe, ar, فيصل علي ورابي; born 1948), also spelled Faisal Ali Warabe, is a Somalilander engineer and politician. He previously served as Director of Planning and Building as well as Regional Director of

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 ...

's Ministry of Public Works. Additionally, Warabe is the founder and chairman of the Justice and Welfare Party (UCID).

Life and education

Warabe was born in 1948 in

Hargeisa Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...

, British Somaliland. He hails from the

Eidagale The Eidagale (Ciidagale), ar, ‎عيدَغَلي, (which translates to "army joiner"), Full Name: Da'ud ibn Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad, is a major Somali clan and is a sub-division of the Garhajis clan of the Isa ...

sub-clan of the

Garhajis The Garhajis ( so, Garxajis, ar, غرحجس , Full Name: ''Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin'' ''al-Ḥusayn al-Hāshimīy'') historically known as the Habar Gerhajis () is a major clan of the wider Is ...

Isaaq The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak, Isaac) ( so, Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, ar, بني إسحاق, Banī Isḥāq) is a Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. Pe ...

. Waraabe completed his primary, Intermediate and Secondary education in Somaliland. For his post-secondary education, Waraabe studied at

Somali National University Somali National University (SNU) ( so, Jaamacadda Ummadda Soomaaliyeed, ar, الجامعة الوطنية الصومالية, it, Università Nazionale Somala) is a national university in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Its campus grounds w ...

where he learned courses in teacher training, Warabe studied in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. He earned an M. Sc. in

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

in 1973 from an institution in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Between 1997 and 2001, Warabe also matriculated at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

's Faculty of Social Sciences, where he attended courses in the Social Policy Department. He later moved to

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

. Warabe is married. He speaks several languages, including Somali,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

. Warabe received Finnish citizenship in 1999.

Son's death

Warabe's son Sayid Hussein Feisal Ali Warabe (born 1991) died on 29 December 2017 in Syria. Sayid Hussein Feisal Ali, who had Finnish citizenship and who was also known as Abu Shuayb as-Somali (from Finland), had traveled from Finland to Syria in early 2013 to become a

jihadi Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

fighter, first joining al-Nusra and later

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

. His cousin, Abu Mansuur Somali, also left Leppävaara for Syria and it is believed the two became radicalised together. Faysal Ali, who had warned Finnish authorities about his son, believes Sayid Hussein Feisal Ali was killed in an airstrike.

Career

An engineer by profession, Warabe began his career as the president of AYAAN, a local Somali construction company. He later worked as a Chief Engineer 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 ...

. Warabe subsequently served with the Somalia central government as the Director of Planning and Building in the Ministry of Public Works. He was later appointed the Ministry's Regional Director. In 2001, Warabe founded the Justice and Welfare Party (UCID) in Somaliland. Serving as the political association's Chairman, UCID came in third place in the 2003 regional elections, receiving 16% of votes.

Work

;Main offices: *Regional Director, Ministry of Public Works, Somalia *Director of Planning & Building, Ministry of Public Works *Chief Engineer, Mogadishu, Somalia *President of AYAAN construction company ;Other positions held: *Chairman of Somaliland Society in Europe (2001) *Chairman of Somali Social Democrats Party (2001) *Chairman of Somaliland Association in Finland (1998-2001) *Chairman of Somali Social Democrats Party (1997) ;Other activities: *Spokesman for Somaliland Peace Committee, 1995

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Warabe, Faysal Ali 1948 births Ethnic Somali people Living people People from Hargeisa Somalian emigrants to Finland Somalian engineers Somaliland politicians University of Helsinki alumni Finnish people of Somali descent Naturalized citizens of Finland