Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Adan Abdulle Osman (Adan Adde) who was the first President of the Republic of Somalia, died today at the age 99. Aden Abdulle Osman is remembered as the first African leader to leave the office of the presidency after losing an election.
Aden Abdulle Osman (born in 1908 in Belet Weyne), Somalia. In February 1944, he joined the Somali Youth Club (subsequently called the Somali Youth League), a nationalist party, which strove for the independence of Somalia. He became a member of the party's steering board and in 1946 he was appointed as Secretary of the Belet Weyne section of the party.
From 1954 until 1956 and again from 1958 until 1959 he acted as chairman of the Somali Youth League. In 1956 he was elected as chairman of the Legislative Assembly.
When Somalia became independent on July 1, 1960, he was elected as the first president of Somalia. In the 1967 presidential elections he was beaten by Abdirashid Ali Shermarke. His term as president ended on June 10, 1967.
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