Shire Haji Farah (Shire Xaaji Faarax): Dubai businessman and Puntland finance and planning minister

Who is he?

Shire Haji Farah Yusuf (Somali: Shire Xaaji Faarax) is a Puntland businessman and politician, born in Bosaso on 5 January 1950. He was Puntland's Minister of Finance and then Minister of Planning and International Relations under President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali "Gaas" (Wikipedia, Shire Haji Farah). He is from the Ali Suleiman, Majeerteen, Harti, Darod (same source).

Business

Wikipedia describes him as a successful entrepreneur and an executive committee member of the Somali Business Council in the United Arab Emirates. In November 2013 Somali women held a political event in Dubai in support of his candidacy (Wikipedia).

The 2014 election

He stood in the Puntland presidential election held in Garowe on 8 January 2014 and was eliminated in the first round. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, a former prime minister of Somalia, won (Wikipedia).

Finance minister, 2014 to 2015

On 28 January 2014 the new president appointed him finance minister, replacing Farah Ali Jama (Wikipedia). In April 2014 his ministry announced that Puntland would begin taxing UN agencies and international organisations working in the state, for the first time. The head of the Nugaal tax department, Abdiwahab Farah Ali, said the money would go to local development projects. The government had already raised taxes on companies operating in Puntland as part of the president's plan to fund more development from its own revenue (same source). See Taxes in Somalia and The money of the member states.

Planning minister, 2015 to 2019

In June 2015 he moved to the Ministry of Planning and International Relations, and Abdullahi Aarshe became finance minister (Wikipedia). In December 2016 he led the Puntland security forces' counter-offensive on Qandala, which had been taken by the Islamic State group in Somalia; the town was retaken on 7 December 2016. He then asked those who had fled to "return to the town ... we want to tell them that the town is peaceful" (same source). See Islamic State in Somalia.

When the president named a new cabinet on 7 August 2017, after parliament had dismissed the previous one in a no-confidence vote on 18 July, Shire Hajji Farah kept the planning and international cooperation portfolio (Garowe Online, 7 August 2017). He held the post until 11 February 2019, when Abdiqafar Hange succeeded him (Wikipedia). See Puntland's institutions.

Sources disagree

• The date of his move to planning. Wikipedia's infobox gives both 13 June and 17 June 2015 as the start of his term as planning minister, and the end of his term as finance minister as 13 June 2015 (Wikipedia).
• His ministry's name. Wikipedia calls it planning and international relations; Garowe Online's 2017 cabinet list calls it planning and international cooperation (Wikipedia; Garowe Online).