Somalia: Incoming PM lands in Mogadishu
Who is Sharmarke?
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke is a Somali-Canadian diplomat, from privileged background, and is the son of former President and Prime minister, Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke who was assassinated by his bodyguard in Sool regional capital of Lasanod on October 15, 1969 during a visit to drought-stricken regions in northern Somalia.
Before taking on a diplomatic post as Somalia ambassador to the United States in 2009, interim President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed cherry-picked Sharmarke for premiership.
Besides, He is the son of Ruqia, the daughter of renowned Islamic scholar Dahir Ali Boss. Sharmarke graduated with BA in Economics from Somali National University (SNU), and subsequently studied at Carleton University in Ottawa, earning BA in Political science and MA in Political Economics.
On September 21, 2010, Somali envoy to the US left his top political job after bitter stand-off came into being between him and President Ahmed.
In July 2014, President Mohamud named him Somalia’s first ambassador to the United States in 20 years.
In contrast to his predecessors, he will not be a novice in Somali politics.
GAROWE ONLINE