Mayor of Mogadishu


The Mayor of Mogadishu is head of the executive branch of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces laws within the city. The current mayor is Omar Muhamoud Finnish, who was appointed on 22 August 2019 and succeeded the Martyr Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman, who was killed on 1 August 2019 due to a suicide bombing occurred 24 July 2019 inside the mayor's office.
The mayor's office is located in Mogadishu City Hall, which was recently renovated after years of abandonment and decay during the Somali Civil War. The mayor is not elected, but is appointed by the President of Somalia. The mayor also holds the title of Governor of Benaadir, an administrative region whose territory is coextensive with the city of Mogadishu.

History of the office

The first mayor of Mogadishu was Romeo Campani, an Italian expatriate who was appointed by General Rodolfo Graziani, the Governor of Italian Somaliland. Beginning in 1953 with the appointment of Cali Cumar Sheegow, the office of mayor has been held by native Somalis. After Somalian independence from Italy in 1960, the mayor has been appointed by the President of Somalia.

List of mayors

Colonial mayors

The following mayors of Mogadishu were appointed by the Governor of Italian Somaliland. From 1941 to 1949, resulting from World War II, the British occupied the territory and appointed the mayors, who remained Italians. Beginning in 1953, native Somalis were appointed to the office.
#MayorTermGovernor
1Romeo Campani1 December 1936 – 15 December 1937Rodolfo Graziani
Angelo de Ruben
Ruggiero Santini
2Rag Scarpa15 December 1937 – 1 March 1937Francesco Saviero Caroselli
3Dr. Sicar1 March 1937 – 3 June 1937Francesco Saviero Caroselli
4Luigi Barbino3 June 1937 – 1937Francesco Saviero Caroselli
5Marcelio Baudino1937 – December 1938Francesco Saviero Caroselli
6Sanatore GulianoDecember 1938 – February 1941Francesco Saviero Caroselli
6Sanatore GulianoDecember 1938 – February 1941Gustavo Pesenti
Carlo De Simone
7Pietro BartelliFebruary 1941 – April 1950Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith
William Eric Halstead Scuphan
Denis Henry Widcham
Eric Armar Vully de Candole
Geoffrey Massey Gamble
7Pietro BartelliFebruary 1941 – April 1950Giovanni Fornari
8Oliveri OlivierioApril 1950 – June 1950Giovanni Fornari
9Enrico AlivieroJune 1950 – November 1953Giovanni Fornari
10Carlo VeccoNovember 1953 – 1953Giovanni Fornari
11Maxamed Sheekh Jamaal Cabdulaahi1956–1960Enrico Anzilotti
Mario Di Stefano
--1956–1960-

Post-independence mayors

Since Somalia's independence on 1 July 1960, mayors of Mogadishu have been appointed by the President of Somalia:
#ImageMayorTermPartyPresident
13Axmed Muudde Xuseen1960 – August 1962Somali Youth LeagueAden Abdullah Osman Daar
14Keynadiid Axmed YuusufAugust 1962 – September 1963Somali Youth LeagueAden Abdullah Osman Daar
15Shariif Maxamed ImaankeeySeptember 1963 – 1965Somali Youth LeagueAden Abdullah Osman Daar
16Cumar Xasan Maxamuud1965 – February 1966Somali Youth LeagueAden Abdullah Osman Daar
17Shariif Maxamed Caydaruus1966–1970Somali Youth LeagueAbdirashid Ali Shermarke
Sheikh Mukhtar Mohamed Hussein
18Axmed Maxamuud Cadde20 November 1970 – 8 December 1970Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
19Osman Mohamed Jeelle8 December 1970 – 1973Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
20Hassan Abshir Farah28 March 1973 – February 1976Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
21Yusuf Ibrahim AburasFebruary 1976 – May 1981Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
22Cabdullaahi Salaad WarsameMay 1981 – 1982Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
23Hassan Abshir Farah1982–1987Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
24Ali Ougas Abdul1987 – 16 January 1990Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
25Said Umar Afrah16 January 1990 – 18 October 1990Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
26Ahmed Jilacow Addow18 October 1990 – 26 January 1991Somali Revolutionary Socialist PartySiad Barre
27Omar Hashi Aden1992–1994United Somali CongressAli Mahdi Muhammad
28Hussein Ali Ahmed1994United Somali CongressAli Mahdi Muhammad
29Abdullahi Muse Hussein2000– 2004United Somali CongressAli Mahdi Muhammad
29Abdullahi Muse Hussein2000– 2004United Somali CongressAli Mahdi Muhammad
Abdiqasim Salad Hassan
30Ibrahim Shaweyec. June 2005Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
31Adde Gabow15 January 2007 – May 2007Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
32Mohamed Omar HabebMay 2007 – 30 July 2008Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
–Mohamed Osman Ali Dhakahtur2008 – 2010 Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
33Mohamed Nur2010 – 27 February 2014Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
34Hassan Mohamed Hussein27 February 2014 – November 2015IndependentHassan Sheikh Mohamud
35Yusuf Hussein JimaaleNovember 2015 – 5 April 2017Peace and Development PartyHassan Sheikh Mohamud
36Thabit Abdi Mohammed15 April 2017 – 19 January 2018Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
37Abdirahman Omar Osman20 January 2018 – 1 August 2019Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
38Omar Muhamoud Finnish22 August 2019- Current MayorMohamed Abdullahi Mohamed

Vice mayors

The mayor of Mogadishu is assisted by a vice mayor or deputy mayor. The current vice mayor is Iman Nur Ikar.

Notable former vice mayors

Living former mayors of Mogadishu include: Hassan Mohamed Hussein, Hassan Abshir Farah, Yusuf Hussein Jimaale, and Mohamed Nur.

In popular culture

Towards the end of the Somali Rebellion, President Siad Barre was sometimes mockingly referred to by many as the "Mayor of Mogadishu," based on the fact that Barre controlled little territory outside the capital. By 1989, when the United Somali Congress had captured most surrounding towns and villages, this had become a common saying in Somalia, and on 29 September 1990, the British newspaper The Economist used the phrase in reference to Barre.
During the early 1990s, after the overthrow of the Siad regime and during the Somali famine, Dan Eldon, a British photojournalist who covered the famine and conflict, became popular among Mogadishans that he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mogadishu."