Mayor of Mogadishu
The Mayor of Mogadishu is head of the executive branch of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces laws within the city. Mayor Sheik Yousuf Hussein Jim'ale was appointed on 14 September 2022 and succeeded the Mayor Omar Mohamoud Mohamed Filish.
The mayor's office is located in Mogadishu City Hall, which was recently renovated after years of abandonment and decay during the Somali Civil War. The mayor is not elected, but is appointed by the President of Somalia. The mayor also holds the title of Governor of Benaadir, an administrative region whose territory is coextensive with the city of Mogadishu.
History of the office
The first mayor of Mogadishu was Romeo Campani, an Italian expatriate who was appointed by General Rodolfo Graziani, the Governor of Italian Somaliland. Beginning in 1956 with the appointment of Mohamed Sheekh Jamaal also known as Jamaal Jabiye, the office of mayor has been held by native Somalis. After Somalian independence from Italy in 1960, the mayor has been appointed by the President of Somalia.List of mayors
Colonial mayors and first Somali mayor in colonial era
The following mayors of Mogadishu were appointed by the Governor of Italian Somaliland. From 1941 to 1949, resulting from World War II, the British occupied the territory and appointed the mayors, who remained Italians. Beginning in 1953, native Somalis were appointed to the office.| # | Image | Mayor | Term | Governor |
| 1 | Romeo Campani | 1936 – 1937 | Rodolfo Graziani Angelo de Ruben Ruggiero Santini | |
| 2 | Rag Scarpa | 1937 – 1937 | Francesco Saviero Caroselli | |
| 3 | Dr. Sicar | 1937 – 1937 | ||
| 4 | Luigi Barbino | 1937 – 1937 | ||
| 5 | Marcelio Baudino | 1937 – 1938 | ||
| 6 | Sanatore Guliano | 1938 – 1941 | Gustavo Pesenti Carlo De Simone | |
| 7 | Pietro Bartelli | 1941 – 1950 | Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith William Eric Halstead Scuphan Denis Henry Widcham Eric Armar Vully de Candole Geoffrey Massey Gamble | |
| 8 | Oliveri Olivierio | 1950 – 1950 | Giovanni Fornari | |
| 9 | Enrico Aliviero | 1950 – 1953 | Giovanni Fornari | |
| 10 | Carlo Vecco | 1953 – 1956 | ||
| 11 | Mohamed Sheekh Jamaal | 1956 – 1958 | ||
| 12 | Ali Omar Sheegow | 1958 – 1960 |
Post-independence mayors
Since Somalia's independence on 1 July 1960, mayors of Mogadishu have been appointed by the President of Somalia:Vice mayors
The mayor of Mogadishu is assisted by a vice mayor or deputy mayor. The current vice mayor is Iman Nur Ikar.Notable former vice mayors
In popular culture
Towards the end of the Somali Rebellion, President Siad Barre was sometimes mockingly referred to by many as the "Mayor of Mogadishu," based on the fact that Barre controlled little territory outside the capital. By 1989, when the United Somali Congress had captured most surrounding towns and villages, this had become a common saying in Somalia, and on 29 September 1990, the British newspaper The Economist used the phrase in reference to Barre.During the early 1990s, after the collapsed central government of the Siad regime and during the Somali famine, Dan Eldon, a British photojournalist who covered the famine and civil war, became popular among Mogadishans and was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mogadishu."