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Aden Abdullah Osman Daar عدن عبد الله عثمان دار
1st President of Somalia
In office July 1, 1960 – June 10, 1967
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Abdirashid Ali Shermarke
Born	1908 Beledweyne, Hiiraan Region, Italian Somaliland
Died	June 8, 2007 (aged 99) Nairobi, Kenya
Nationality	Somali
Political party	Somali Youth League (SYL)
Religion	Islam

Aden Abdulle Osman Daar (Somali: Aaden Cabdulle Cismaan Daar (Aaden Cadde), Arabic: عدن عبد الله عثمان دار‎) (1908 – June 8, 2007) was a Somali politician and the country's first President from July 1, 1960 to June 10, 1967.^[1]

Biography

Daar was born near the Ogaden in the town of Beledweyne to a Mudulood Hawiye family.^[2]

When Somalia gained its independence on July 1, 1960, he was elected as the nation's first president. In the 1967 presidential election, Daar was defeated by Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, his former Prime Minister. His term as president ended on June 10, 1967. Shermarke was assassinated two years later; the slaying led to an unopposed, bloodless coup d'état by the Somali Army on October 21, 1969, the day after Shermarke's funeral. Spearheading the putsch was Major General Muhammad Siad Barre, Commander of the Army.

In 1990, with the country edging towards anarchy, Daar and about 100 other Somali politicians signed a manifesto expressing concern over the destruction of property and land, murders, and the flight of refugees as a result of the civil war in Somalia. He was arrested along with more than 50 others by Barre's faltering regime.

Later years

After his release, Daar spent the better part of his later years on his farm in Janale, in southern Somalia.^[3]

On May 22, 2007, it was erroneously reported that Daar had died in a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. He was, however, in critical condition and on life support. Daar died in hospital on June 8, 2007, at the age of 99.^[4][5][6] The Transitional Federal Government, then headed by former President of Somalia Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, declared 21 days of mourning, complete with a national memorial service, and issued a statement that Daar would receive a state funeral.^[7] It also renamed Mogadishu International Airport after him.

See also

• Somali Youth League

References

Presidents of Somalia Daar • Shermarke • Mukhtar* • Barre • Muhammad* • vacant, 1991–1995 • M. Aidid* • H. Aidid* • vacant, 1997–2000 • Abdiqasim • A. Ahmed • Nuur* • S. Ahmed * interim