Siad Barre

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Jaalle Major General Mohammed Siad Barre محمد زياد بري 𐒑𐒖𐒄𐒖𐒑𐒗𐒆 𐒈𐒘𐒕𐒛𐒆 𐒁𐒖𐒇𐒇𐒗
1st Chairman of the Somali Revolutionary Council
In office 21 October 1969 – 1 July 1976
Preceded by	Office Established
Succeeded by	Office Abolished
3rd President of Somalia
In office 21 October 1969 – 26 January 1991
Preceded by	Abdirashid Shermarke Mukhtar Mohamed Hussein (acting)
Succeeded by	Ali Mahdi Muhammad
1st General Secretary of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party
In office 26 June 1976 – 26 January 1991
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. (1909-10-06)6 October 1909 Shilavo, Ogaden[1]
Died	2 January 1995(1995-01-02) (aged 85) 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

Mohammed Siad Barre (Somali: Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: 𐒑𐒖𐒄𐒖𐒑𐒗𐒆 𐒈𐒘𐒕𐒛𐒆 𐒁𐒖𐒇𐒇𐒗, Arabic: محمد زياد بري Muhammad Siad Bariy; c. 6 October 1909 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali major general, politician and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 January 1991.

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 (with support from the Soviet Union). 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. The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party became Somalia's vanguard party in 1976, and Barre started the Ogaden War against the Derg in Ethopia 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]