# Hassan Abshir Farah (Xasan Abshir Faarax)

> Hassan Abshir Farah (1945–2020): Prime Minister of the Transitional National Government 2001 to 2003, former Mayor of Mogadishu and Puntland interior minister.

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Last checked: 2026-11-12
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## Who was he?

Hassan Abshir Farah was the second Prime Minister of the [Transitional National Government](/en/history/transitional-governments-2000-2012/) (TNG). World Statesmen dates his term from 12 November 2001 to 8 November 2003 ([World Statesmen, Somalia](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Somalia.html)). His career ran from the military government of the 1970s, through [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/), to the Federal Parliament formed in 2012 ([Wikipedia, Hassan Abshir Farah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Abshir_Farah)).

## Early life and education

He was born on 20 June 1945 in what was then [Italian Somaliland](/en/relations/italy/) (Wikipedia). He went to secondary school in Mogadishu from 1961 to 1965 and then spent two years at the Egyptian Military Academy in Cairo. From 1980 to 1986 he studied law at the Somali National University (same source).

## Under the military government, 1969 to 1991

His public career began after the 1969 coup. His first post was deputy district commissioner of Mogadishu, and in the 1970s he became Mayor of Mogadishu (Wikipedia). Our list of mayors, drawn from World Statesmen and Wikipedia, records two terms: 1973 to 1976 and 1982 to 1987 ([Mayors of Mogadishu](/en/institutions/mayors-of-mogadishu/)). He also served as governor of Middle [Shabelle](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) and of [Bakool](/en/regions/bakool/), and as Somalia's ambassador to Japan (same source).

## Puntland interior minister

In 1999 he was Interior Minister of Puntland under President [Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed](/en/people/abdullahi-yusuf-ahmed/) (Wikipedia; [IRIN, 10 December 1999](https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin-121099.html)).

## Prime Minister, 2001 to 2003

President [Abdiqasim Salad Hassan](/en/people/abdiqasim-salad-hassan/) appointed him Prime Minister in November 2001, after Osman Jama Ali's short term as acting Prime Minister ([World Statesmen, Somalia](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Somalia.html)). In November 2001 he said that the United States would be welcome to send troops to help monitor terrorist activity in Somalia ([BBC News, 27 November 2001](https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1678586.stm)). In October 2002 he led the TNG's delegation to the reconciliation conference that opened in Eldoret, Kenya (Wikipedia). The TNG's mandate ran out in August 2003 ([IRIN, 13 August 2003](http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35939&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA)). His term ended in late 2003, and Mohamed Abdi Yusuf followed him as Prime Minister ([World Statesmen, Somalia](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Somalia.html)).

## Later career

In 2004 he became Minister of Fisheries in the new Transitional Federal Government (Wikipedia). On 1 August 2006 he resigned together with seven other ministers in protest at the postponement of talks with the Islamic Courts Union (same source). In 2008 he announced that he would stand for President of Puntland in the January 2009 election, which [Abdirahman Mohamed Farole](/en/people/abdirahman-farole/) won (same source). From 2012 he was a member of the Federal Parliament (same source).

He died of COVID-19 in Turkey on 12 July 2020 ([Horn Daily, 12 July 2020](https://www.horndaily.com/2020/07/12/former-somali-prime-minister-hassan-abshir-farah-dies-of-coronavirus-in-turkey/)).

## Offices held

- Mayor of Mogadishu, 1973 to 1976 and 1982 to 1987. See [Mayors of Mogadishu](/en/institutions/mayors-of-mogadishu/).
- Interior Minister of Puntland, 1999
- Prime Minister of the Transitional National Government, 12 November 2001 to 8 November 2003. See [Prime Ministers of Somalia](/en/people/prime-ministers-of-somalia/).
- Minister of Fisheries, 2004 to 2006
- Member of the Federal Parliament, from 2012

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