The president of Somaliland ( so, Madaxweynaha Somaliland; ar, رئيس جمهورية أرض الصومال, Rayiys jumhuriat 'ard alsuwmal) is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Somaliland Armed Forces. The president represents the

Government of Somaliland The Government of Somaliland (JSL) ( so, Dowladda Somaliland or Xukuumada Somaliland, ar, حكومة صوماليلاند) is the central government of Somaliland. The Government of Somaliland consists of legislative, executive, and judicial ...

. The first president of Somaliland was

Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur Abd al-Rahman ( ar, عبد الرحمن, translit=ʿAbd al-Raḥmān or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman''; also Abdul Rahman) is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' ...

. The current office-holder is the 5th president

Muse Bihi Abdi Musa Bihi Abdi ( so, Muuse Biixi Cabdi, ar, موسى بيحي عبدي) (born 1948 in Hargeisa, British Somaliland, now Somaliland) is a Somaliland politician and former military officer who has been President of Somaliland since December 2017. ...

, who took office on 13 December 2017. The President can serve a maximum of two five-year terms. The Republic of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the former British Somaliland Protectorate, which was an independent country for a few days in 1960 as the

State of Somaliland The State of Somaliland (, ) was a short-lived independent country in the territory of present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland. It existed on the territory of former British Somaliland for five days between 26 June 1960 and 1 ...

History

The first president of Somaliland was Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur, one of the leaders of the Somali National Movement (SNM), who took office on 7 June 1991, weeks after Somaliland was declared a republic. Since then the office has been held by four further people:

Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal ( so, Maxamed Xaaji Ibraahim Cigaal, ar, محمد الحاج ابراهيم عقال; August 15, 1928 – May 3, 2002) was a Somali politician who served as the President of Somaliland from 1993 to his death in 2002. ...

Dahir Riyale Kahin Dahir Riyale Kahin ( so, Daahir Riyaale Kaahin, ar, ظاهر ريالي كاهن) (born 12 March 1952) is a Somaliland politician who was President of Somaliland from 2002 to 2010. He previously served as a senior officer in the National Secur ...

Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud "Silanyo" ( so, Axmed Maxamed Maxamuud Siilaanyo, ar, احمد محمد محمود سيلانيو) (born 1938) is a Somaliland politician who was President of Somaliland from 2010–2017. He is a long-time member of the g ...

, and

Eligibility

By Article 82 of the

Constitution of Somaliland The Constitution of the Republic of Somaliland ( so, Dastuurka Jamhuuriyadda Somaliland; ar, دستور جمهورية صوماليلاند) is the supreme source of national law of Somaliland, adopted by the Houses of the Parliament of So ...

, a person shall be eligible for the office of President or

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

if (a) he is a citizen of Somaliland by birth, and, notwithstanding residence as a

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

in another country, must not hold any other citizenship; (b) he must be a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, and must behave in accordance with Islamic religion; (c) he must be at least 40 years of age; and (d) he fulfills other criteria set out in this Article.

List of presidents of Somaliland

Death in office

One Somaliland president has died in office: *

, who died on 3 May 2002 aged 73.

Living former presidents

, there are two living former presidents of Somaliland, as seen below. File:Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo - Chatham House 2010 (cropped).jpg, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud "Silanyo"
served 2010–2017
born 1936 (age ) File:Dahir Riyaale Kahin.jpg,

served 2002–2010
born 1952 (age ) The most recent president to die was

(served 28 May 1991 – 16 May 1993), on 8 November 2003, at the age of 72.

Latest election

References

External links

Constitution in English
{{Africa in topic, Constitution of Government of Somaliland