Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is a Somali politician who served as the 4th President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. Before his presidency, he became the Chairman of the Islamic Courts Union from 2004 to 2007 and the Alliance of Re-liberation of Somalia from 2007 to 2009.
In 2004, Sharif became the head of the ICU. By mid-2006, the organization had wrested control of Mogadishu from warlords and expanded territorial control across much of Somalia. This rapid rise prompted a full-scale Ethiopian invasion in late 2006, leading to the ICU's governing body to collapse. In the ensuing military occupation and Islamist insurgency, Sharif assumed leadership of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia. Following Ethiopia's troop withdrawal in January 2009, he was elected President of the Transitional Federal Government.
Sharif's TFG administration faced fierce opposition from militant groups like Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, which demanded the withdrawal of African Union troops that had been deployed following the invasion and the full implementation of Sharia law. In early 2009, his government nearly fell to an insurgent offensive in Mogadishu. However, by 2011, his administration—with African Union support—managed to drive Al-Shabaab out of the capital. Despite these gains, Somalia under Sharif's leadership continued to rank as a failed state, struggling with limited popular support and widespread governance challenges. By the end of his term, the TFG transitioned into the Federal Government of Somalia. In the 2012 presidential election, Sharif was defeated by Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
After his presidency, Sharif founded the Islamic democratic Himilo Qaran political party and later established the Forum for National Parties. He also serves as chairperson of the Council of Presidential Candidates of Somalia.
Early life and career
Education
Born on 25 July 1965 in Mahaday, Somalia a town in the south of the Middle Shabelle region where he studied Islam, Arabic language and memorized the Qur'an as a child. He began his education at the Sheikh Sufi Institute, which was associated with Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He studied at Libyan and Sudanese universities in the mid-1990s, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Law and Islamic Shariah.Law career
Sheikh Sharif departed for Somalia in 2000 at a time when Somalia was under the control of warlords and friends could not visit each other in Mogadishu due to clan separation and mistrust. The legacy of the civil war was apparent everywhere in Somalia and Sharif had ambitions of saving his country and his people. He established Al Shuruuq Agency, a cultural and heritage institution and the Federation of Adolescents in Mogadishu which facilitated social interaction for young Somalis who had never before crossed the boundaries formed by the warlords. As a result, the residents of Mogadishu began to cross the lines where friends, schoolmates, and elders can come together and express themselves in a positive way. Sharif became a regional attorney of his home province, middle Shabelle, where he was elected chairman of a provincial court in Jowhar between 2001 and 2002.Armed groups in the Somali capital who exploited the disintegration of the central government had been responsible for countless kidnappings and killings. The court was established through a campaign which Sharif led to secure the release of an abducted child. The court was successful in securing the release of the child and other abductees as well as looted vehicles. The court went on to suppress the violence of gangs and warlords which was prevalent throughout the capital. Subsequently, all five Islamic courts united and Sharif, who had always been seen as the moderate face of the Islamic Courts Union, was elected to become the chair.
Somalia was already beginning to see swift political and economic changes under his first six months of leadership. Warlords and their influence were eliminated from the city with the help of the people's support which made it possible for the first time in sixteen years to reopen Mogadishu International Airport and Mogadishu Port. Top UN officials have referred to this period as a 'Golden era' in the history of Somali politics.
At the time the Transitional Federal Government which was established in Mbagathi, Nairobi in 2004, was a fragile body which was divided and weak. The Ethiopian army invaded Somalia claiming that it was trying to help the Transitional Federal Government and overthrew the Islamic Court Union. Sharif met with the US Ambassador to Kenya for talks concerning cooperation with the Transitional Federal Government, after which he left for Yemen to meet with other former Islamic Courts Union members.
Pre-presidential political career
As an exiled opposition leader Sharif, the former leader of the Islamic Courts Union, was in search of a headquarters for establishing a new political party, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia. In September 2007 nearly 500 delegates gathered in Asmara, Eritrea, including Islamists, parliamentarians, civil society and the diaspora and adopted a constitution. Sharif's party the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia signed a peace treaty with the Transitional Federal Government on 9 June 2008 in Djibouti called the Djibouti Agreement.Many members of the Islamic Courts Union and other resistance factions such as Al-Shabaab were alienated by Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's conduct during the Djibouti negotiations, particularly after he signed the peace deal without consulting field commanders-despite the continued presence of Ethiopian troops. ICU personnel in Mogadishu during this period viewed Sharif's behavior as unprincipled.
President of Somalia
The Sharif administration successfully brought the Federal Government of Somalia through transitional status following the collapse of the previous governing administration in 1991.His administration is credited with developing Somalia's constitution and setting up key institutions such as the police force, the military and the Court system. He established the Somali National Army, opened the main sea port of Mogadishu and relaunched the central bank.
Under Sharif's leadership, the Transitional Federal Government succeeded in driving out Al Shabaab from the capital city and its surroundings, establishing security, peace and reconciliation through the difficult transitional period.