Haji Muse Boqor Osman (Somali: Xaaji Muuse Boqor; born 1911–1991, Arabic: حاجي موسى بوقور) was a Somali politician and businessman. He was the first Minister of Interior Affairs during the Italian Trusteeship of Somalia.[1] He was also a member of Somalia's first Parliament.[2]

Haji Muse Boqor
1st Somali Minister of Interior affairs
In office
1956–1959
Personal details
Born
Muuse Boqor Cismaan

1911
Bargal, Majeerteeniya, Italian Somalia
DiedJanuary 5, 1991(1991-01-05) (aged 79)
Mogadishu, Somalia
Political partySomali Youth League (SYL)
Other political
affiliations
Maanifeesto
Occupation

Biography

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Haji Muse was born in Bargal, a city of Majeerteeniya territory, when Somalia was an Italian colony. He memorized the Quran at a young age. In 1929, he moved to Mogadishu to continue his education.[3]

Haji Muse joined the Somali Youth League, a group fighting for Somalia's independence. During the 10 years of Italian trusteeship, he served in the cabinet of Abdullahi Isse. He became Somalia's first Minister of Interior Affairs and held this position until the country gained independence in 1960.[4][5]

Assassination of Abdirashid Sharmake

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On October 15, 1969, Somali President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was assassinated in Las Anod, Sool region of Somalia.[1] The attack happened around noon near the municipal headquarters. A 22-year-old man named Said Yusuf Ismail, also called "Said Orfano," shot the president seven times.[1] President Sharmarke fell to the ground and died at the scene.[6] After the president's death, Haji Muse Boqor was expected to become the next president. However, just six days later, on October 21, 1969, a military coup took place.[7] The Somali Army took control of the government without facing resistance. This bloodless takeover was led by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, the army's commander at the time.[8] The coup marked the beginning of Siad Barre's rule over Somalia.[9]

Detention and death

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After the military coup, many politicians, scholars, and religious leaders, including Haji Muse Boqor, were arrested. Siad Barre saw them as potential rivals and a threat to his rule.[2]

While in prison, Haji Muse Boqor was reportedly poisoned at two detention centers, Labaatan Jiroow and Laanta Buur. After his release, he became one of the 114 members of the "Manifesto Group". This group signed a peace agreement aimed at ending the fighting between Siad Barre's government and the United Somali Congress (USC) militias in Mogadishu.  

On January 5, 1991, after the Asr (afternoon) prayer, Haji Muse Boqor was killed along with Sheikh Mohamed Faruur, Hashi Wehliye Moalim, and Mohamed Said Gentleman. They died as a result of mortar shelling while staying at the home of Dr. Muhiyadiin in the Kaaraan neighborhood of Mogadishu.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Ingiriis, Mohamed Haji (2017). "Who Assassinated the Somali President in October 1969? The Cold War, the Clan Connection, or the Coup d'État". African Security. 10 (2): 131–154. ISSN 1939-2206.
  2. ^ a b "XASUUS XAAJI MUUSE BOQOR CUSMAAN OO MUQDISHU LAGU DILAY 1991". Radio Daljir (in Somali). 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  3. ^ "XASUUS XAAJI MUUSE BOQOR CUSMAAN OO MUQDISHU LAGU DILAY 1991". Radio Daljir (in Somali). 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  4. ^ MOSLEY, JASON (2015-01-23). "PETER WOODWARD, Crisis in the Horn of Africa: politics, piracy and the threat of terror. London: I. B. Tauris (hb £56 – 978 1 78076 220 3; pb £14.99 – 978 1 78076 221 0). 2012, 240 pp. - CHRISTOPHER L. DANIELS, Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa. Plymouth: Scarecrow Press (hb £39.95 – 978 0 8108 8310 9; pb £18.95 – 978 0 8108 8694 0). 2012, 254 pp". Africa. 85 (1): 163–165. doi:10.1017/s0001972014000813. ISSN 0001-9720.
  5. ^ Kapteijns, Lidwien (March 2005). "BOOK REVIEW: Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji. HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF SOMALIA. African Historical Dictionary Series, 87. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003". Africa Today. 51 (3): 136–138. doi:10.2979/aft.2005.51.3.136. ISSN 0001-9887.
  6. ^ "Who Cares About Tarawa?". JAMA. 283 (20): 2626. 2000-05-24. doi:10.1001/jama.283.20.2626. ISSN 0098-7484.
  7. ^ Thompson, Daniel K. (2016-02-09). "Conflict in the Horn of Africa: The Kenya–Somalia Border Problem 1941–2014 by Vincent Bakpetu Thompson Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2015. Pp. 405. £29·95 (pbk)". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 54 (1): 182–184. doi:10.1017/s0022278x15000920. ISSN 0022-278X.
  8. ^ Helander, Bernard (July 1991). "I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of Somalia: nation and state in the Horn of Africa, revised, updated and expanded edition, Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1988, 311 pp., US$38, ISBN 0 8133 7402 2 paperback". Africa. 61 (3): 414–415. doi:10.2307/1160042. ISSN 0001-9720.
  9. ^ "Who Assassinated The Somali President In October 1969? | Saxafi Media". 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
Political offices
Preceded by
Office established
Minister of Interior Affairs (Somalia)
1956–1959
Succeeded by