Mohammed Siad Barre (Somali: Maxamed Siyaad Barre; Arabic: محمد زياد بري, romanized: Muhammad Ziād Barīy; c. 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 January 1991.
Jaalle
Major General
Siad Barre
Maxamed Siyaad Barre
محمد زياد بري
𐒑𐒖𐒄𐒖𐒑𐒗𐒆 𐒈𐒘𐒕𐒛𐒆 𐒁𐒖𐒇𐒇𐒗
Official portrait, c. 1970
3rd President of Somalia
In office
21 October 1969 – 26 January 1991
Vice President
Jama Ali Korshel
Mohamed Ainanshe
Ali Samatar
Hussein Afrah
Ismail Abokor
Preceded by
Abdirashid Shermarke
Mukhtar Mohamed Hussein (acting)
Succeeded by
Ali Mahdi Muhammad
General Secretary of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party
In office
26 June 1976 – 26 January 1991
Preceded by
Office Established
Succeeded by
Office Abolished
Chairman of the Somali Revolutionary Council
In office
21 October 1969 – 1 July 1976
Preceded by
Office Established
Succeeded by
Office Abolished
12th Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity
In office
12 June 1974 – 28 July 1975
Preceded by
Yakubu Gowon
Succeeded by
Idi Amin
1st Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Somali Armed Forces
In office
21 October 1969 – 26 January 1991
Preceded by
Office Established
Succeeded by
Office Abolished
2nd Commander-in-Chief of the Somali National Army
In office
20 April 1965 – 25 November 1969
Preceded by
Daud Abdulle Hirsi
Succeeded by
Mohammad Ali Samatar
1st Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Somali National Army
In office
12 April 1960 – 20 April 1965
Preceded by
Office Established
Succeeded by
Mohamed Ainanshe Guled
Personal details
Born
Mohammed Siad Barre
c. 6 October 1919
Shilabo, Ethiopia[1]
Died
2 January 1995 (aged 75)
Lagos, Nigeria
Resting place
Garbaharey, Gedo, Somalia
Nationality
Somali
Political party
Supreme Revolutionary Council (1969–1976)
Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (1976–1991)
Somali National Front (1991–1992)
Spouses
Khadija Maalim
Dalayad Hajji Hashi
Fadumo Aw Muse
Falhado Gure
Mariam Hassan
Relations
Abdirahman Jama Barre (cousin)
Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan (son-in-law)
Children
Maslah Mohammed Siad Barre
+28 others
Parents
Siad Barre Abdulle Yussuf (father)
Shaqlan Warfa (mother)
Alma mater
Military Academy of Modena
Military service
Allegiance
Kingdom of Italy (1935–1945)
United Kingdom (1945–1950)
Italy (1950–1960)
Somali Republic (1960–1969)
Somali Democratic Republic (1969–1991)
Somali National Front (1991–1992)
Branch/service
Royal Italian Army
King's African Rifles
Somali Police Force
Somali National Army
Somali National Front
Years of service
1935–1992
Rank
Major general
Commands
Head of the Crime Investigation Department of the British Colonial Police in Somalia and Kenya (1945-1950)
Commander of the Banadir Regional Police (1955-1960)
Battles/wars
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
World War II
East African campaign
Military coups in Somalia
1969 Somali coup d'état
1978 Somali coup attempt
Ethiopian–Somali conflict
1964 Border War
Ogaden War
1982 Border War
Somali Rebellion
Somali Civil War
Barre, the commander of the Somali National Army, became president of Somalia after the 1969 coup d'état that overthrew the Somali Republic following the assassination of President Abdirashid Shermarke. The Supreme Revolutionary Council military junta under Barre reconstituted Somalia as a one-party Marxist–Leninist communist state, renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic and adopted scientific socialism. Barre spoke three languages, English, Somali and Italian.
Barre's early rule was characterised by attempts at widespread modernization, nationalization of banks and industry, promotion of cooperative farms, a new writing system for the Somali language, and anti-tribalism. In 1976, the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party became the country's vanguard party. The following year Barre launched the Ogaden War against Ethiopia's Derg regime, supporting the Western Somali Liberation Front on a platform of Somali nationalism and pan-Somalism. Barre's popularity was highest during the seven months between September 1977 and March 1978 when Barre captured virtually the entirety of the Somali region.[2] It declined from the late-1970s following Somalia's defeat in the Ogaden War, triggering the Somali Rebellion and severing ties with the Soviet Union. Somalia then allied itself with the Western powers and especially the United States for the remainder of the Cold War, although it maintained its Marxist–Leninist regime and also drew close to China.
Opposition grew in the 1980s due to his increasingly dictatorial rule, growth of tribal politics, abuses of the National Security Service including the Isaaq genocide, and the sharp decline of Somalia's economy. In 1991, Barre's government collapsed as the Somali Rebellion successfully ejected him from power, leading to the Somali Civil War and a massive power vacuum in its wake. Barre was forced into exile in Nigeria, where he died in 1995 on the way to the hospital after suffering a heart attack.[3][4][5]
