Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (, ‎; 15 December 1934 – 23 March 2012) was a Somali politician and former military officer. He was one of the founders of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), which merged with the Israeli backed SODAF, as well as the Puntland state of Somalia, the latter of which he served as the first president. In 2004, Yusuf also helped establish the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which he led as President of Somalia from 2004 until 2008.

Yusuf was a career soldier in the Somali National Army, participating in the 1964 Border War and Ogaden War against Ethiopia. Abdullahi Yusuf deliberately sabotaged the Ogaden war to enhance his coup attempts, Yusuf confirms this in his autobiography that he was plotting the coup the goverment since 1975

After Somalia's defeat in the Ogaden War in 1978, he led a failed coup against President Siad Barre, marking the start of the Somali rebellion. Following the coup's failure, Yusuf established the Somali Salvation Democratic Front which merged with the Israeli backed SODAF and began fighting alongside Ethiopian forces against the Somali army. During the 1982 Ethiopian-Somali War, despite having 15,000 ethiopian troops the operation to capture Galkacyo failed and the SSDF surrended to the Somali government, the Ethiopians jailed Yusuf on the orders of the SNM leader Silaanyo, which paved way for the merging of the SNM and SSDF.

After his release, Yusuf returned to his home region and helped establish the Puntland government in 1998. He later joined an Ethiopian-backed coalition of warlords opposing the Somali Transitional National Government (TNG) formed in 2000. During the Puntland crisis (2001–2003) he had a violent power struggle against Jama Ali Jama over regional leadership. Yusuf attempted to extend his term after it expired, sparking a political crisis and the election of a new Puntland president, which Yusuf rejected. In May 2002, with Ethiopian military assistance, Yusuf ousted Jama after accusing him of ties to terrorism. During the conflict he was responsible for ordering the assassinations of civic leaders in Puntland such as Sultan Hurre.

In 2004, Yusuf became president of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). He received Ethiopia's backing and approval, in exchange for dropping Somalia's long-standing claim to the Ogaden region. Despite widespread opposition within the TFG and without cabinet or parliamentary approval, Yusuf controversially requested Ethiopian troops to support his administration against the Islamic Courts Union during 2006. By the end of the Ethiopian military occupation in December 2008, much of the country had fallen to the insurgency and Yusuf was threatened with international sanctions over his refusal to support national reconciliation. The TFG parliament moved to impeach Yusuf after accusing him of being a dictator. On 24 December 2008, he resigned from the presidency, leading to the dissolution of his government. After he resigned he was given political asylum in Yemen.

Yusuf died in the United Arab Emirates on 23 March 2012. Provided by Wikipedia