Ismail Ali Abokor ( so, Ismaaciil Cali Abokor) was a Somali Politician and Major General. A senior member of the Supreme Revolutionary Council, He also served as

Vice President of Somalia The vice president of Somalia is a former political position in Somali Democratic Republic. The vice presidents were appointed on the discretion of the president of Somalia, Mohamed Siad Barre. A history of the office holder follows.https://www.c ...

in the era of Siad Barre between 1971 and 1982. He was also a Speaker of parliament 1979 – 1982.

Early life and education

Abokor was born in 1937 in

Burao Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; so, Burco, , ar, برعو) is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was also the third largest city of Somalia. Burao was the site of the declaration of an in ...

, now Somaliland. After completing his secondary education, he traveled to

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 ...

for military training. He graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Career

Early career

Ismail Ali Abokor returned to the

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 1960 as one of the first officers to train for British Somaliland. In 1961, Ismail Ali Obokor became deputy commander of the officers training school. In 1962, he served as the head of the

Somali National Army The Somali National Army ( Somali: ''Xooga Dalka Soomaaliyeed,'' lit. ''"Somali Ground Forces"'') is the ground forces component of the Somali Armed Forces, and is the largest out of the three service branches that make up the majority of the A ...

Barue, and in 1963 was named as a deputy commander of a battalion stationed in

Kismayo Kismayo ( so, Kismaayo, Maay: ''Kismanyy'', ar, كيسمايو, ; it, Chisimaio) is a port city in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The city is situa ...

. In 1965, he trained 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 ...

, and after that he was appointed as a commander of a battalion in

, and was promoted to a rank of lieutenant. In 1967 he became Chief of trainers at Halane training school, known as "Bootiko".

Somali Democratic Republic

Ismail Ali Abukar served in the

. In the rank of lieutenant colonel participated in the coup d'état of October 21, 1969, which led to the rule of General

Mohammed 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 ...

, and became a member of the Supreme Revolutionary Council of the

Somali Democratic Republic The Somali Democratic Republic ( so, Jamhuuriyadda Dimuqraadiya Soomaaliyeed; ar, الجمهورية الديمقراطية الصومالية, ; it, Repubblica Democratica Somala) was the name that the socialist military government gave to Som ...

. He held the post of one of the vice-presidents of the

, received the rank of colonel. In November 1971 he visited the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. He was one of the key figures of the regime of Siad Barre, he held the rank of brigadier general and in 1971 he was appointed the Vice President of Somalia. Since July 1976 (from the date of founding the party) he became a member of the Central Committee and a member of the Politburo of the

Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), , it, Partito Socialista Rivoluzionario Somalo was the ruling party of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1976 to 1991. History SRSP was created by the military regime of Siad Barre under S ...

Defection

After falling out with Barre, he was imprisoned in 1982 and subsequently released in 1988, after which he defected to the

Somali National Movement The Somali National Movement ( so, Dhaqdhaqaaqa Wadaniga Soomaaliyeed, ar, الحركة الوطنية الصومالية) was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups opposed to the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 19 ...

based in what was then northern Somalia.

References

1937 births Living people Vice presidents of Somalia Speakers of the Parliament of Somalia Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party politicians {{Africa-mil-bio-stub