Public life today
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf (Cabdulqawi Axmed Yuusuf)
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf is a Somali lawyer and judge from Eyl who sat on the International Court of Justice from 2009 to 2025. He was the Court's President from 2018 to 2021, the third African to hold the post. Before that he was UNESCO's legal adviser and worked for UNCTAD and UNIDO. He resigned from the Court with effect from 30 September 2025.
Abdulqawi Ahmed YusufCabdulqawi Axmed Yuusuf · Abdulqawi A. Yusuf
- Known as one of
- Public life today
- Places
- Garoowe and Nugaal
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 1 sources
Who is he?
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf is a Somali lawyer and judge (Wikipedia, Abdulqawi Yusuf). He served on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague from 2009 to 2025, and was its President from 2018 to 2021 (same source).
Early life and study
He was born in Eyl, in today's Puntland (Wikipedia). He earned a law degree at the Somali National University and did postgraduate study in international law at the University of Florence (same source). He holds a PhD in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva (same source). He speaks Somali, Arabic, English, French and Italian (same source). See Puntland.
Career before the Court
Wikipedia lists these posts (Wikipedia):
- Lecturer in law at the Somali National University, 1974 to 1981, and at the University of Geneva, 1981 to 1983.
- Somali delegate to the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1975 to 1980.
- At UNCTAD, chief of the legal policies service from 1987 to 1992, then head of its New York office from 1992 to 1994.
- At UNIDO in Vienna, legal adviser from 1994 to 1998 and assistant director-general for African affairs from 1998 to 2001.
- Legal adviser and director of international standards and legal affairs at UNESCO, March 2001 to January 2009.
He was elected to the Institut de droit international in 1999 (same source). He founded the African Yearbook of International Law and is general editor (same source). His books include Pan-Africanism and International Law (2014) (same source).
The International Court of Justice
He became a judge of the ICJ on 6 February 2009 (Wikipedia). He was elected Vice-President on 6 February 2015, and President on 6 February 2018 (same source). He was the third African President of the Court, after Taslim Olawale Elias of Nigeria and Mohamed Bedjaoui of Algeria (same source).
On 6 June 2025 he announced his resignation, effective 30 September 2025 (Wikipedia). The UN elected Phoebe Okowa of Kenya to complete his term, which was due to end in February 2027 (same source).
In short
A Somali international lawyer who served as judge of the International Court of Justice from 2009 to 2025 and its President from 2018 to 2021.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Abdulqawi Yusuf · en.wikipedia.org
Abdulqawi Ahmed YusufCabdulqawi Axmed Yuusuf · Abdulqawi A. Yusuf
- Known as one of
- Public life today
- Places
- Garoowe and Nugaal
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 1 sources
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