Friday, June 08, 2007
Mr Osman was a well-respected elder statesman |
Somalia's first president, Aden Abdulle Osman, has died aged 99 in a Kenyan hospital where he had been in a coma.
He was also the first African leader to voluntarily relinquish his post after he lost the 1967 presidential election - Somalia's last democratic poll.
Siad Barre seized power two years later and since he was ousted in 1991 rival warlords have fought for control.
Mr Osman was a well-respected leader and emerged as an elder statesman in attempts to establish lasting peace.
His family says he was very unhappy with the current crisis and his dream was to see Somalia attain peace and stability.
Mr Osman rose to prominence as a nationalist politician in the 1950s.
He was elected head of state when the former British and Italian Somali colonies joined to form the Republic of Somalia in 1960.
Some Somali leaders have remembered him as a simple, down-to-earth person.
Source: BBC, June 08, 2007