Yusuf Garaad Omar ( so, Yuusuf Garaad Cumar, ar, يوسف جراد عمر) (born 26 June 1960 in

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

) is a Somali journalist, diplomat and politician. He previously served as Somalia ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and was a senior advisor to President

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Hassan Sheikh Mohamud ( so, Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud, ar, حسن شيخ محمود; born 29 November 1955) is a Somali politician who has served as the president of Somalia since May 2022. He is the founder and current chairman of the Union for P ...

. He was the Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs from March 2017 until he was fired by then Prime Minister

Hassan Ali Khaire Hassan Ali Khaire (or alternatively transliterated as Hassan Ali Khayre, so, Xasan Cali Khayre, ar, حسن علي خيري; born 1967), popularly known as Hassan Khaire, is a Somali activist and politician and is the former Prime Minister of S ...

in January 2018.

Early life and education

Omar was born on 26 June 1960 in the

Hamar Jajab district Hamar Jajab district ( so, Degmada Xamar Jajab) is a district in the southeastern Banaadir region of Somalia. A sector of the national capital Mogadishu, it contains the Port of Mogadishu The Port of Mogadishu, also known as the Mogadishu Intern ...

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 ...

. He attended high school in the capital. Omar later studied French at the

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 earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. In 1990, he moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and pursued an advanced degree in anthropology at the

University of Siena The University of Siena ( it, Università degli Studi di Siena, abbreviation: UNISI) in Siena, Tuscany, is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called ''Studium Senese'', the institution was founded in 1240 ...

. He later on attended the Global Master of Arts Program at The

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, USA. He is also multilingual, speaking Somali,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, French and

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 ...

Career

Journalism and politics

In a professional capacity, Omar has worked as a professional journalist for many years. He initially was a correspondent with

Radio Mogadishu Radio Mogadishu ( so, Radio Muqdisho, ar, راديو مقديشو) is the federal government-run radio station of Somalia.

from 1984 until the outbreak of the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in Somalia in 1991. Omar thereafter served as a freelance reporter in Italy. He later joined the BBC Somali Service in 1992, eventually becoming the chairman of the department eight years later. In 2012, Yusuf left from his position at the BBC to run for political office in Somalia. He subsequently presented himself as one of the potential candidates in the country's 2012 presidential elections. in 2013 he served as a senior Adviser to the

President of Somalia The president of Somalia ( so, Madaxaweynaha Soomaaliya) is the head of state of Somalia. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Somali Armed Forces. The president represents the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Republic of Somal ...

. He was also assigned to a number of key tasks including negotiations with the Breakaway Somali Region of

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 ...

aimed at safeguarding the territorial integrity and the unity of Somalia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia

On 21 March 2017, Omar was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia by then Prime Minister

. He succeeded Abdusalam H. Omer at the position. On 29 March 2017, Omar formally assumed office after sworn in.

References

External links