Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman (born 1940) () is a Somali admiral,

war hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero' ...

and the incumbent chairman of the

Ogaden National Liberation Front The Ogaden National Liberation Front (abbreviated ONLF, so, Jabhadda Wadaniga Xoreynta Ogaadeeniya; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير أوجادين) is a social and political movement, founded in 1984 to campaign for the right to ...

(ONLF).

Early life and education

He was born in

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 ...

, but attended secondary school 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 ...

. He later went to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

where he graduated from the Naval Section of the Egyptian War College where Somali Army generals were completing their military education simultaneously, and later Admiral Osman completed his naval military education 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, ...

's Kuznetsov Military Academy.Biography appended t
his interview with ''Bartamaha''
12 October 2009 (accessed 17 November 2009)

Naval Service

After returning to

, he was appointed a member of the central committee of the ruling

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 ...

in the mid-1970s, then became chief of the party's Politbureau. Afterward, he was appointed commander of the Somali Navy and promoted to the rank of vice admiral, as chief of naval operations, he oversaw and commanded navy forces in the Ogaden war against the

Ethiopian Navy The Ethiopian Navy (), known as the Imperial Ethiopian Navy until 1974, was a branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force founded in 1955. It was disestablished in 1996 after the independence of Eritrea in 1991 left Ethiopia landlocked. The ...

and commanded naval infantry units to assist the

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 ...

. After the collapse of the central government in Somalia in 1991, he returned to the

Somali Region The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional stat ...

in Ethiopia, where in 1998 he was chosen to be the leader of the ONLF at the Party Congress.

Chairmanship of the ONLF and later life

In the later years, Admiral Osman and his supporters had been in a power struggle against a group led by the ONLF head of Planning and Research Department, Dr. Mohamed Sirad Dalool, who was assassinated March 2009. This has reportedly led to a split in the ONLF, with one faction loyal to Admiral Osman, while another, led by Abdiwali Hussein Gas, holds Admiral Osman responsible for Dr. Dalool's death, which he has not commit, in fact, it is to be said that Dr. Dalool and Admiral Osman were very close friends and that he relied heavily on Dr. Dalool for advice and that he was a key member who was important of the party."Ethiopia: Ogaden's ONLF breaks into two factions"
, ''Jimma Times'', 3 March 2009 (accessed 17 November 2009)

Notes

1940 births Living people Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party politicians Somali nationalists Somali admirals Somalian military personnel Somalian military leaders Muslim socialists {{Ethiopia-bio-stub