# Ministry of Defence of Somalia (Wasaaradda Gaashaandhigga): what it does and who has led it > What Somalia's federal Ministry of Defence does, how it is organised, the 2015 Guulwade Plan, payroll and budget, and a list of defence ministers from 1960 to today. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/ministry-of-defence/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## What it does The Ministry of Defence co-ordinates and supervises the federal government's work on national security and the Somali Armed Forces: the army, the air force and the navy. It sets defence policy and provides resources to the armed forces, which are responsible for the country's territorial integrity. The President of Somalia is supreme commander of the armed forces ([Wikipedia, Ministry of Defence (Somalia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(Somalia))). Day-to-day command of the army sits with the Chief of Defence Forces ([Wikipedia, Somali Armed Forces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Armed_Forces)). The ministry's website is [mod.gov.so](https://mod.gov.so/). For the forces themselves, see [Somali National Army](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/), [Somali Air Force](/en/institutions/somali-air-force/) and [Somali Navy](/en/institutions/somali-navy/). ## How it is organised Under the minister and deputy minister, a secretary-general runs the ministry, with three deputy secretaries-general for development, policy and management. Their divisions cover procurement, the defence industry, human resources, finance and accounts, alongside an internal audit division, a legal division and an integrity unit. The Chief of Defence Forces, with the chiefs of the army, navy and air force and the director of defence intelligence, also sits in the ministry's chart ([Wikipedia, Ministry of Defence (Somalia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(Somalia))). ## History **1960 to 1991.** After independence, the [Darawishta](/en/institutions/somali-police-force/) of the south merged with the [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) Scouts of the former British protectorate and new recruits to form a Somali National Army of about 5,000. Its first commander was Colonel [Daud Abdulle Hirsi](/en/people/daud-abdulle-hirsi/), and officers trained in the United Kingdom, Egypt and Italy ([Wikipedia, Ministry of Defence (Somalia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(Somalia)), citing Colin D. Robinson, *Defense & Security Analysis*, 2019, and the Library of Congress Country Study, 1992). After the coup of October 1969, most defence ministers came from the [Supreme Revolutionary Council](/en/history/somali-democratic-republic-1969-1991/). The armed forces broke apart with the civil war at the end of the 1980s (same source). **2004 to 2012.** The armed forces were rebuilt step by step after the [Transitional Federal Government](/en/history/transitional-governments-2000-2012/) was set up in 2004. When Abdihakim Mohamoud Haji-Faqi became minister in November 2010, the ministry worked from two rooms in a privately owned building, with no internet or electricity, because al-Shabaab held the ministry's own building ([Wikipedia, Ministry of Defence (Somalia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(Somalia)), citing [Harun Maruf](/en/people/harun-maruf/) and Dan Joseph, *[Inside Al-Shabaab](/en/books/inside-al-shabaab-maruf/)*, 2018, p. 167). **The Guulwade Plan.** In April 2015 the ministry launched the Guulwade (Victory) Plan, a roadmap for the federal armed forces drawn up with the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia. International partners were to train and support 10,900 soldiers drawn from different regions ([UN Security Council, S/2015/331](https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=s/2015/331)). **December 2021.** Prime Minister [Mohamed Hussein Roble](/en/people/mohamed-hussein-roble/) swapped the defence and justice ministers, moving Hassan Hussein Haji to justice and [Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur](/en/people/abdulkadir-mohamed-nur/) to defence. President [Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed](/en/people/mohamed-abdullahi-farmaajo/) "Farmaajo" suspended Roble the next day ([The EastAfrican, 27 December 2021](https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/somalia-president-farmaajo-suspends-pm-roble-again-3664484)). ## Money and payroll About two-thirds of the army's budget comes from outside donors, and defence was nearly a quarter of the 2024 federal budget of $1.1 billion, according to an assessment in the US Military Academy's CTC Sentinel ([CTC Sentinel, 2024](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-somali-national-army-versus-al-shabaab-a-net-assessment/)). In April 2026 Fiqi said soldiers' pay would be tied to monthly verification and deployment checks under a new payroll system, and that the ministry had finished a digital registration of security personnel. The meeting, with the World Bank and other partners, also covered procurement, pensions and draft defence legislation ([Dawan Africa, 28 April 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-to-tie-troop-pay-to-monthly-verification-deployment-checks)). For the federal budget, see [The federal budget and taxes](/en/economy/budget-and-taxes/). ## The minister today Prime Minister [Hamza Abdi Barre](/en/people/hamza-abdi-barre/) moved **Ahmed Moalim Fiqi** from foreign affairs to defence in April 2025, replacing Jibril Abdirashid Haji, who became deputy prime minister ([Reuters, 27 April 2025](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/somalias-prime-minister-appoints-new-defence-minister-reshuffle-2025-04-27/); [Garowe Online](https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-after-diplomatic-blunders-fiqi-shifted-to-defence)). In September 2026 he said al-Shabaab would be unable to capture a single village even if African Union troops left ([Dawan Africa, 20 September 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-says-army-can-hold-off-al-shabaab-even-without-au-troops)). ## Defence ministers | Minister | From | To | |---|---|---| | [Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal](/en/people/mohamed-haji-ibrahim-egal/) | 1960 | 1961 | | Sheikh Ali Ismail | 1961 | 1962 | | Hilowle Moalin Mohamed | 1962 | 1964 | | Aden Isaq Ahmed | 1964 | 1966 | | Abdirahman Haji Mumin | 1966 | 1967 | | Haji Yusuf Iman Gulaid | 1967 | 1969 | | Hilowle Moalin Mohamed | 1969 | 1970 | | Salad Gabeire Kediye | April 1970 | July 1970 | | [Mohamed Ali Samatar](/en/people/mohamed-ali-samatar/) | 1970 | 1987 | | Aden Abdullahi Nur | 1987 | 1989 | | Hussein Sheikh Abdirahman | 1989 | 1990 | | [Mohamed Said Hersi Morgan](/en/people/mohamed-said-hersi-morgan/) | 1990 | January 1991 | | Abdirahman Mahmud Ali | January 2005 | | | Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale | August 2006 | 2007 | | Ismail Ahmed Nur | December 2007 | | | Mohiyadin Muhammad Haji | January 2008 | August 2008 | | Hussein Sheikh Abdirahman | 2008 | 2008 | | Mohamed Abdi Mohamed | 21 February 2009 | August 2009 | | Abdullahi Boos Ahmed | August 2009 | 10 November 2010 | | Abdihakim Mohamoud Haji-Faqi | 12 November 2010 | 20 July 2011 | | Hussein Arab Isse | 20 July 2011 | 4 November 2012 | | Abdihakim Mohamoud Haji-Faqi | 4 November 2012 | 17 January 2014 | | Mohamed Sheikh Hassan | 17 January 2014 | 27 January 2015 | | Abdulkadir Sheikh Dini | 27 January 2015 | 21 March 2017 | | Abdirashid Abdullahi Mohamed | 21 March 2017 | 12 October 2017 | | Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdurahman | November 2017 | March 2018 | | Hassan Hussein Haji | 2020 | December 2021 | | Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur | December 2021 | March 2025 | | Jibril Abdirashid Haji | March 2025 | April 2025 | | Ahmed Moalim Fiqi | April 2025 | | Source for the table: [Wikipedia, Ministry of Defence (Somalia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(Somalia)), which for 1960 to 1991 cites [Mohamed Haji Mukhtar](/en/people/mohamed-haji-mukhtar/), *Historical Dictionary of Somalia* (2003). Mohamed [Mursal](/en/society/murusade/) [Sheikh](/en/regions/sheikh/) Abdurahman left the post when he was elected speaker of parliament ([Reuters, 30 April 2018](https://www.reuters.com/article/world/somalias-former-defense-minister-elected-new-speaker-of-parliament-idUSKBN1I11MU/)). Where the To column is empty, the source gives no end date. ## Sources disagree - **Samatar's years.** The source list gives Mohamed Ali Samatar as minister from 1970 to 1987, but also lists Brigadier [General Omar Haji](/en/people/omar-haji-masale/) Mohamed as minister from October 1981 to 1982, citing the US Army country study of 1982 ([Wikipedia, Ministry of Defence (Somalia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(Somalia))). - **1971.** The same page says Major General Muhammad Ainanshe, a member of the Supreme Revolutionary Council, lost the defence portfolio on 10 April 1971, citing Daniel Compagnon's thesis, but he does not appear in its list of ministers (same source). - **2018 to 2020.** The list has no minister between Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdurahman in March 2018 and Hassan Hussein Haji in 2020 (same source). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.