The Independence Day of
Somalia is a national holiday observed annually in Somalia on July
1. The date celebrates the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the
former Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (the former British Somaliland) on July 1, 1960, which
formed the Somali Republic (Somalia). A government was
subsequently formed by Abdullahi Issa and Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal and other
members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with speaker of the
SOMALIA ACT OF UNION Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of
the Somali National Assembly, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic, On
20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum, the
people of Somalia ratified a new constitution, which was first drafted in
1960.
History of Somalia
Somalia was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world, and according to most scholars, it is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt.
During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuran Sultanate, Adal Sultanate, Warsangali Sultanate, Sultanate of the Geledi and Majeerteen Sultanate.
In the late 19th century,
through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms, the British and Italians
gained control of parts of the coast, and established British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. In the interior, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan's Dervish
State successfully repulsed the British
Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region but the
Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 by British airpower. Italy acquired full
control of the northeastern, central and southern parts of the territory after
successfully waging a Campaign of the Sultanates against the ruling Majeerteen Sultanate and Sultanate of Hobyo. This occupation lasted until
1941, when it was replaced by a British military administration. Northwestern
Somalia would remain a protectorate, while northeastern, central and southern
Somalia by agreement became a United Nations Trusteeship on 1 April
1950, with a promise of independence after 10 years. On 1 July 1960, the two
regions united as planned to form the independent Somali
Republic under a civilian government. The Somali National Assembly, headed
by Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf, approved the act
uniting former Italian Somaliland with British Somaliland, establishing the
Republic of Somalia.
Colonialism: 1840-1960
Between 1840 and 1886, the British East India Company
established a series of trade treaties with various Somali chiefs. Italy also
had a hand in the early establishment of Somalia and marked out the boundaries
of Italian Somaliland in the south between 1897 and 1908. Ethiopia claimed the Ogaden region of
western Somaliland in 1897.
The first uprising against colonialism
occurred when Somalis sought to push the Ethiopians out of the Ogaden region
but then expanded to target European colonists as well. The Dervish State,
headed Mohammed Abdille Hassan, an Ogaden himself who the British referred to
as “Mad Mullah,” conducted a religious-based war of resistance against the
Ethiopians and British from 1899
to 1920, resulting in the death of nearly
one third of northern Somalia’s population. Great Britain defeated
Hassan in 1920.
Italy maintained control of Italian
Somaliland as a part of its African empire (including Ethiopia and Eritrea)
until 1941.
During WWII Great Britain also took over these areas and ruled them as military
protectorates until 1949,
at which time the newly formed United Nations granted Italy a trusteeship over
most of present-day Somalia. The British maintained a trusteeship over what is
today the self-declared state of Somaliland.
While the Italians dedicated significant
effort towards developing their colony, Great Britain took a more hands-off
approach to governance, leaving more responsibility in the hands of local
leaders but also providing less by way of infrastructure. These distinctions
are often cited as underpinnings of the incompatibility that would arise between
the two areas. This colonial history, in addition to other dynamics, is also
seen to play a role in the subsequent, contrasting levels of stability of
Somalia and Somaliland.
Independence and Early Years, 1960
After the 10-year interim period, on June 26, 1960, the
northern protectorate of Somaliland gained independence from Britain. Five days
later on July 1, 1960,
the two former colonies united to form the United Republic of Somalia under
President Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, Prime Minister Abdirashid Ali Shermarke,
and a 123-member National Assembly representing both territories.
Daar ruled Somalia from 1960 until 1967. Shermarke
succeeded him and led the country for two years until his assassination in 1969. Though northern
and southern Somalia were united under one government, they operated as two
separate countries, with different legal, administrative, and educational
systems.
Beginnings of Dictatorship, 1969-1976
On the day of Shermarke’s funeral, the
Somali army, led by Mohamed Siad Barre, staged a bloodless coup. Barre, a
charismatic dictator who fostered a cult of personality and called himself
“Victorious Leader,” served as president and military ruler of Somalia from 1969-1991 and renamed
the country the Somali Democratic Republic.
Under Barre’s leadership Somalia sided with
the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Though Barre outlawed clan loyalties and promoted his own “scientific
socialism,” he supported clan elders to maintain control of rural
areas. The new government, dominated by the only legal political party, the
Supreme Revolutionary Council, or SRC, formed a guiding ideology based on a
combination of Marxism and the Quran and led a “reeducation” campaign to
eliminate opposition.
In 1976,
the SRC officially marked the end of military rule by dissolving itself and
ceded power to its own creation, the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party, or
SRSP.
In 1977, with Ethiopia in chaos after the
fall of Haile Selassie, Somalia attacks Ethiopian garrisons in the Ogaden. Soon
a Somali army is even besieging the city of Harar. But President Siad is
betrayed by his chosen superpower. The Soviet Union sees a more important
potential client in the new Ethiopia.
Early in 1978 the Ethiopian army, using
Soviet equipment and reinforced by troops from Cuba, recaptures the Ogaden. The
result is the mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees over the
borders into Somalia.
In the aftermath of this disaster guerrilla
groups, clan-based and regional, are formed in and around Somalia with the
intention of toppling Siad's repressive and centralizing regime. By 1988 the
result is full-scale civil war, resulting in the overthrow of Siad in 1991. He
withdraws to the safety of his own clan, becoming one warlord among many in
this increasingly chaotic nation. In 1991 the faction controlling the former
British Somaliland confuses matters by declaring its independence as the republic
of Somaliland.
Famine, the UN and continuing chaos: 1992-1999
The conflict destroys Somalia's crops
during 1992 and brings widespread famine. Food flown in by international
agencies is looted by the warring militias. By December 1992 the situation is
such that the UN actively intervenes, sending a force of 35,000 troops in
Operation Restore Hope.
The UN briefly calms the situation,
persuading fifteen warring groups to convene in Addis Ababa in January 1993 for
peace and disarmament talks. These seem at first to make progress, but the
situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. In March 1994 American and
European units in the UN force withdraw, finding the level of casualties
unacceptable. Troops from African countries and the Indian subcontinent remain
in site.
During the rest of the decade the situation
gets worse rather than better. From late 1994 the capital, Mogadishu, is
divided between the two most powerful of the warring factions. In each a leader
declares himself the president of the nation and organizes a supposedly
national government. In March 1995 the remaining UN forces are evacuated from
the coast under the protection of an international flotilla.
At the end of the decade the only remotely
stable region is the breakaway republic of Somaliland, in the northwest. An
interim constitution is introduced here in 1997 and a president is elected. But
the would-be republic fails, as yet, to win any international recognition.
Under the auspices of the UN, AU, Arab
League and IGAD, a series of additional national reconciliation conferences
were subsequently held as part of the peace process. Among these summits were
the 1997 National Salvation Council in Sodere, Ethiopia, the 1997 Cairo Peace
Conference / Cairo Declaration, the 2000 Somalia National Peace Conference in
Arta, Djibouti under the newly established Transitional National Government,
the 2002 Somali Reconciliation Conference in Eldoret, Kenya, the 2003 National
Reconciliation Conference in Nairobi, Kenya when the Transitional Federal
Government was established and the Transitional Federal Charter was adopted,
the 2004 Nairobi Conference, and the 2007 National Reconciliation Conference in
Mogadishu.
Following the outbreak of the civil war,
many of Somalia's residents left in search of asylum. According to the UNHCR, there were
around 975,951 registered refugees from the country in neighboring states as of
2016. Additionally, 1.1 million people were internally displaced persons
(IDPs). The majority of the IDPs were Bantus
and other ethnic minorities originating from the southern regions, including
those displaced in the north. An estimated 60% of the IDPs were children.
Causes of the displacement included armed violence, drought and other natural disasters,
which, along with diverted aid flows, hindered the IDPs' access to safe shelter
and resources. IDP settlements were concentrated in south-central Somalia
(893,000), followed by the northern Puntland (129,000) and Somaliland (84,000)
regions. Additionally, there were around 9,356 registered refugees and 11,157
registered asylum seekers in Somalia. Most of these foreign nationals emigrated
from Yemen to
northern Somalia after the Houthi insurgency in 2015.
However, the majority of emigrants to Somalia consist of Somali expatriates,
who have returned to Mogadishu and other urban areas for investment
opportunities and to take part in the ongoing post-conflict reconstruction
process.
A consequence of the collapse of
governmental authority that accompanied the civil war was the emergence of piracy
in the unpatrolled Indian Ocean waters off of the coast of Somalia. The
phenomenon arose as an attempt by local fishermen to protect their livelihood
from illegal fishing by foreign trawlers. In August 2008, a multinational coalition took on the task of
combating the piracy by establishing a Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA)
within the Gulf of Aden. A maritime police force was also later
formed in the Puntland region, and best management practices, including hiring
private armed guards, were adopted by ship owners. These combined efforts led
to a sharp decline in incidents. By October 2012, pirate attacks had dropped to a
six-year low, with only 1 ship attacked in the third quarter compared to 36
during the same period in 2011.
Structure of the Federal Parliament of Somalia.
A reconstituted Somali National Army (SNA) and Somali Police Force (SPF) have worked toward
expanding their influence. In October 2011, a coordinated operation, Operation Linda Nchi between the Kenyan and
Somali military and multinational forces began against the Al-Shabaab group of insurgents in
southern Somalia. The intervention was announced by the Kenyan government,
initially without the support of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, but
following talks in Nairobi on 30 October, a joint communiqué was issued saying
Somali forces were leading operations. By September 2012, Kenyan, Raskamboni, and Somali forces had managed to
capture Al-Shabaab's last major stronghold, the southern port of Kismayo. In
July 2012, three European Union operations were also launched to engage with
Somalia: EUTM Somalia, EU Naval
Force Somalia Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa, and
EUCAP Nestor.
The Federal Government of Somalia, the
first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil
war, was later established in August 2012. By 2014, Somalia was no longer at
the top of the fragile states index, dropping to second place behind South
Sudan. UN Special Representative to Somalia Nicholas
Kay, European Union High Representative Catherine
Ashton and other international stakeholders and analysts have also begun to
describe Somalia as a "fragile
state" that is making some progress towards stability. In August 2014,
the Somali government-led Operation Indian Ocean was launched to clean
up the remaining insurgent-held pockets in the countryside.
Federal Government of Somalia
The Federal
Government of Somalia (FGS) (Somali:
Dowladda
Federaalka Soomaaliya, Arabic: حكومة الصومال
الاتحادية)
is the internationally recognized government of the Federal Republic of
Somalia.
The Federal
Government of Somalia
was established on August 20, 2012, following the end of the interim mandate of
the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG).
It officially
comprises the executive branch of government, with the parliament serving as the legislative
branch. It is headed by the President of Somalia, to whom the Cabinet reports through the Prime Minister.
Structure
The national constitution lays out the basic
way in which the government is to operate. It was passed on June 23, 2012,
after several days of deliberation between Somali federal and regional
politicians and ratified by the new federal parliament.
Under the new
constitution, Somalia, now officially known as the Federal Republic of
Somalia, is a federation.
Executive
branch
The President is elected by the Parliament. He or she
serves as the head of state and chooses the Prime Minister, who
serves as the head of government and leads the Council of
Ministers. According to Article 97 of the constitution, most executive powers
of the Somali government are vested in the Council of Ministers. The incumbent
President of Somalia is Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke is the
national Prime Minister.
Council of
Ministers
The Cabinet is formally known as the Council of Ministers. It is appointed by the
Prime Minister with consent of the President and approved by the Federal
Parliament.
Federal Parliament
of Somalia
The Federal Parliament of Somalia elects
the President and Prime Minister, and has the authority to pass and veto laws. It is bicameral,
and consists of a 275-seat lower house as well as an upper
house capped at 54 representatives. By law, at least 30% of all MPs must be
women. The current Members of parliament were selected by a Technical Selection
Committee, which was tasked with vetting potential legislators that were in
turn nominated by a National Constituent Assembly consisting of elders. The
current Speaker of the Federal Parliament is Mohamed Osman Jawari.
Judiciary
The national
court structure is organized into three tiers: the Constitutional Court,
Federal Government level courts and Federal Member State level courts. A
nine-member Judicial Service Commission appoints any Federal tier member of the
judiciary. It also selects and presents potential Constitutional Court judges
to the House of the People of the Federal Parliament for approval. If endorsed,
the President appoints the candidate as a judge of the Constitutional Court.
The five-member Constitutional Court adjudicates issues pertaining to the
constitution, in addition to various Federal and sub-national matters.
Federal member
states
Local state
governments, officially recognized as Federal Member States, have a
degree of autonomy over regional affairs and maintain their own police and
security forces. However, they are constitutionally subject to the authority of
the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia. The national parliament is tasked with
selecting the ultimate number and boundaries of the Federal Member States
within the Federal Republic of Somalia.
