Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal

Early years

Egal was born in 1928 in the northwestern town of Oodweyne, then a part of the British Somaliland protectorate. He hailed from a Habr Awal Isaaq family.

For his elementary studies, Egal attended primary school in Berbera and Burao. He attended Sheikh Intermediate School in Sheekh. After graduation, he went to England for further studies.

Civilian administration

Egal initially worked as an unofficial member of the former British Somaliland protectorate's Executive Council, and was the Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Council. For five days in June 1960, he served as the Prime Minister of the briefly-extant State of Somaliland (the former British Somaliland) during its planned transition to union with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic.

Following Somalia's independence on July 1, 1960, Egal became the first national Minister of Defense (1960-1962). In 1962, he left the government to form the opposition Somali National Congress. Two years later he joined the Somali Youth League, the majority party in the government at that point. In 1967, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was elected President and he appointed Egal as the Prime Minister.

He was still the Prime Minister and in Washington D.C. when President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated on October 15, 1969. Shortly afterward, the newly established Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) led by Major General Siad Barre, Brigadier General Mohamed Ainashe Gule, Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel seized power. The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic, arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties, dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution. Egal was among the politicians detained by the SRC for his prominent role in the nation's early government. He was eventually released and was named the Ambassador to India (1976-1978) before the Barre regime imprisoned him again on charges of conspiracy until 1985.

When the Barre regime eventually collapsed in 1991 with the start of the civil war, local leaders in north Somalia declared the region independent. Although Egal initially opposed their self-proclaimed secession, he was elected president of the new Somaliland polity two years later by a regional council of elders.

President of Somaliland

During his tenure as President of Somaliland, Egal managed to disarm local rebel groups, stabilized the northwestern Somaliland region's economy, and established informal trade ties with foreign countries. He also introduced the Somaliland shilling, passport and flag. In addition, Egal helped create the Somaliland army, one of the more effective armed forces in Somalia.

Throughout his term as president of the Somaliland region, Egal's dedication to the secessionist cause was doubted and challenged by hardliners, particularly within the Somali National Movement (SNM), who believed that he still ultimately hoped to reconcile with other political actors in the rest of Somalia. In August 2001, Egal survived by one vote a motion tabled by several regional MPs charging him of half-heartedly pursuing separatism. In an interview with IRIN the same year, SNM leader Abdirahman Awale also said of Egal that "when he says he is for independence, it is for local consumption only. He tells the people here one thing, but in his speeches elsewhere he has clearly declared that Somalia will unite one day. He says we will talk to the southerners when they make their home clean and negotiate with them... He says one thing to the public, and a different thing to the international community."

Death

Egal died on May 3, 2002 in Pretoria, South Africa while undergoing surgery at a military hospital. His body was returned to Somaliland for a state funeral, whereafter his three sons laid him to rest next to his father, in accordance with his last wishes. Around 4,000 mourners reportedly attended his burial in Berbera, and the regional parliament declared seven days of mourning. However, Somaliland flags did not fly at half-staff since the emblem on them includes the Shahadah, Islam's holiest words. Dahir Rayale Kahin was sworn in the next day as the new president.

On May 4, 2013, a large gathering was held at the Mansoor Hotel in Hargeisa to commemorate the 11 year anniversary of Egal's death.