Abdirahman Omar Osman


Abdirahman Omar Osman was a Somali politician who was the Governor of Banaadir and Mayor of Mogadishu. Mr Abdirahman Omar Osman aka Eng. Yarisow has been involved in Somali politics for the last 12 years of his life. He served the Government of Somalia as a senior advisor, Minister Information twice, Minister of Treasury, spokesperson of the government, Senior Media & Strategic Communications Advisor and Senior Advisor & Spokesperson of the Office of the President.

Early life

Abdirahman Omar Osman was born on 16 August 1965 in the district of Hodan, Mogadishu, Somalia, Osman obtained a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Somali National University before fleeing the Civil War in 1991 and arriving as a refugee to London. In London he earned a master's degree from the University of Westminster and served as a Labour Party councilor. In 2008, he returned to Somalia to help rebuild the country after the war.

Experience

Mr Osman, popularly known by his moniker Engineer Yarisow graduated from the Somali National University in 1986 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Eng. Yarisow further developed his career by undertaking professional courses NVQ II in Business Administration and Higher Education Certificate on Computer Science in London and he further extended his education in London where he successfully completed a Masters Degree in Housing Management from the University of Westminster in 2004. As a result, his excellence in housing management earned him corporate membership of the United Kingdom Chartered Institute of Housing in 2006.

Mayor of Mogadishu

Abdirahman Omar Osman was appointed Mayor of Mogadishu following the dismissal of the then Mayor, Thabit Abdi Mohammed, by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on 21 January 2018.

Death and International Reactions

On 24 July 2019, a female suicide bomber entered and blew herself up inside Osman's Mogadishu mayoral office, killing six government officials and injuring nine of Osman's staff. Osman and James C. Swan, the recently appointed diplomat and special envoy to Somalia of the United States of America, were the main targets of the bomber, but Swan met the mayor earlier, leaving before the blast occurred. Osman was critically wounded in the attack, and only got worse as he succumbed to his injuries a week later, on 1 August 2019, after having been transported to and hospitalised in Doha, Qatar.
Osman was mourned by members of the international community, including Swan, who condemned the attack as 'heinous.' His life was also commemorated for his long years of civil service and objective to improve Somalia's unfavourable conditions. The East African Islamist terrorist organisation al-Shabaab declared its responsibility for the orchestrating of the attack, claiming that the suicide bomber was one of their militants.