Capital Hargeisa Religion Islam Currency Somali shilling Date dissolved 1960 | Languages Somali Political structure Independent state Founded 1960 | |
 | ||
Prime Minister Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal | ||
The State of Somaliland was a short-lived independent state in the territory of present-day northwestern Somalia, which is also known as the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. It was the name assumed by the former British Somaliland protectorate in the five days between independence from the United Kingdom on 26 June 1960 and union with the Trust Territory of Somaliland which was under Italian administration on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic.
Contents
History
In May 1960, the British government stated that it would be prepared to grant independence to the then protectorate of British Somaliland, with the intention that the territory would unite with the Italian-administered Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian Administration (the former Italian Somaliland). The Legislative Council of British Somaliland passed a resolution in April 1960 requesting independence and union with the Trust Territory of Somaliland, which was scheduled to gain independence on July 1 that year. The legislative councils of both territories agreed to this proposal following a joint conference in Mogadishu.
On June 26, 1960, the former British Somaliland protectorate briefly obtained independence as the State of Somaliland, with the Trust Territory of Somaliland following suit five days later. The following day, on June 27, 1960, the newly convened Somaliland Legislative Assembly approved a bill that would formally allow for the union of the State of Somaliland with the Trust Territory of Somaliland on July 1, 1960.
According to the Chinese government, all state activity in the Somali territories during this five day transitional period was geared toward preparing to unify the two partitioned Somalilands, as had previously been negotiated. Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, who had previously served as an unofficial member of the former British Somaliland protectorate's Executive Council and the Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Council, became the Prime Minister of the State of Somaliland during its brief period of independence until the union with the Trust Territory of Somaliland.
On July 1, 1960, five days after the former British Somaliland protectorate obtained independence as the State of Somaliland, the territory united with the Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic (Somalia).
A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of the Somali National Assembly, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister, later to become President (from 1967–1969). On July 20, 1961 and through a popular referendum, the people of Somalia ratified a new constitution, which had been first drafted in 1960. 90.59% of voters (1,760,540) voted in favor of the constitution.
Republic of Somaliland
The Republic of Somaliland is a self-declared state that is regarded as an autonomous region of Somalia by the international community. Established in 1991, its government regards the territory as the successor state to the State of Somaliland, and seeks self-determination under the name Republic of Somaliland.
The administration the self-declared Republic of Somaliland claims that 35 countries diplomatically recognised a State of Somaliland during the five-day period of independence between 26 June and 1 July 1960, including all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the Republic of China, the French Republic, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America). The Northern Somali Unionist Movement, a unionist group hailing from the northwestern region of Somalia coextensive with the former British Somaliland protectorate, disputes this claim; it asserts that no such records exist and that these nations instead only diplomatically recognized the Somali Republic (Somalia) as a whole. Additionally, the US Department of State indicates in its Document 62 that the United States did not extend formal recognition to a state of Somaliland in 1960, as the enclave's brief independence from Britain was intended to allow it to unite with the Trust Territory of Somaliland a few days later. Secretary of State Christian Herter instead sent a congratulatory message to the Somaliland Council of Ministers on June 26, 1960. Upon union of the two Somalilands, the United States recognized the Somali Republic on July 1, 1960, in a congratulatory message from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower to President of Somalia Aden Abdullah Osman Daar. In 2007, the Government of China issued an affidavit on behalf of the Somali Republic at the International Court of Justice, which similarly indicates that the international community recognized the Somali Republic when it was accepted into the United Nations on September 20, 1960. The Chinese government therein also notes that the sole purpose of gaining independence from Britain was to unite the former British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland territories.