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]