Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

In September 2019 Sheikh Sharif founded the Forum for National Parties an alliance of six political parties including his own party Himilo Qaran and the UPD which is the party of his successor Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The new FNP alliance aims to unite the leadership of the country to work together for to resolve Somalia's political and security issues.

In January 2019 Sheikh Sharif announced his intention to stand for the 2020 presidential election on the ticket of his new political party Himilo Qaran

Sheikh Sharif founded Himilo Qaran in December 2018 ahead of the 2020 elections. In 2019 Himilo Qaran joined the Forum for National Parties an alliance of Somali political parties.

In the 2017 presidential election, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who Sheikh Sharif had earlier instated as Prime Minister succeeded Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as President of Somalia.

Sheikh Sharif completed his fellowship in Boston University in January 2012.

In February 2012, Sharif Ahmed and other Somali government officials met in the northeastern town of Garowe to discuss post-transition political arrangements. After extensive deliberations attended by regional actors and international observers, the conference ended in a signed agreement between the President, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole, Galmudug President Mohamed Ahmed Alin and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a representative Khalif Abdulkadir Noor stipulating that: a) a new 225 member bicameral parliament would be formed, with a lower house and an upper house seating 54 senators; b) 30% of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) is earmarked for women; c) the President is to be appointed via a constitutional election; and d) the Prime Minister is selected by the President and he/she then names his/her Cabinet.

President Sheikh Sharif spoke at the London Conference on Somalia on 23 February 2012. President Sheikh Sharif said: "To all of you who have exerted every effort so that you could put an end to the suffering of the Somali people, we would like to say that we appreciate this wonderful effort." US Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and representatives from over 40 governments attended the London Conference on Somalia, to discuss the rebuilding of Somalia and the tackling of piracy, terrorism and famine.

On 1 June 2012, President Sheikh Sharif and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attended the Istanbul Conference on Somalia to promote global reconstruction effors and to back up on going stabilisation efforts.

On 23 June 2012, the Somali federal and regional leaders met again and approved a draft constitution after several days of deliberation. The National Constituent Assembly overwhelmingly passed the new constitution on 1 August, with 96% voting for it, 2% against it, and 2% abstaining.

The second UAE counter piracy conference was held at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai on 27–28 June. It was attended by more than 400 delegates including Foreign Ministers, the United Nations' International Maritime Organisation, industry leaders, welfare organisations and academic experts. The Conference Keynote Address was given by President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed from the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. The event concluded with a strong call for a "comprehensive approach" against pirates that includes national governments, international organisations and the global maritime industry. On 28 June 2012, President Sharif Ahmed signed a cooperation deal with Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo, President of the separatist Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia. Referred to as the Dubai Charter, the agreement calls for greater coordination between Somalia's various political units and is part of broader international reconciliation efforts among all Somali parties. The presidents of the autonomous Puntland and Galmudug regions as well as the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs also attended the signing.

On 6 August 2011, President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed announced that his military had defeated Islamist rebels battling to overthrow his Western-backed government after the al Shabaab group began withdrawing fighters from the capital Mogadishu.

The Kampala Accord was an agreement made in Kampala, Uganda in line with the Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic to bring and end to the transitional phase of the Transitional Federal Government on 20 August 2011. It was signed on 9 June 2011 by HE Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, President of the Transitional Federal Government, Hon Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament, H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda and Dr Augustine Mahiga, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations.

In September 2011, President Sheikh Sharif visited Burundian peacekeepers serving in his country in a show of support for African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). "I came to pay a visit to the AMISOM peacekeepers and the Somali soldiers," the president told reporters before heading back to Villa Somalia after meetings ended. "The intention was to find out how the soldiers are doing and how ready they are to help the Somali people and the government. As you can see they are really prepared and have high spirits to end the problems affecting the Somali people. The two forces have a good working relationship, and we hope their partnership will result in a victory for our country and removal of the enemy."

Operation Linda Nchi ("Protect the country"; Swahili: Linda Nchi) is the codename for a co-ordinated military operation between the Kenyan military and the Somali military that began on 16 October 2011, when troops from Kenya crossed the border into the conflict zones of southern Somalia.

In November 2011, President Sheikh Sharif met with Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni to discuss security in Somalia and in the eastern Africa region. President Sheikh Sharif was accompanied by a number of ministers and legislators.

In May 2010, at the Istanbul Conference on Somalia, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the only chance to bring stability to Somalia was to support the government of Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. He specifically voiced his support for President Sheikh Sharif himself, saying that he needed to be in power and to strengthen his leadership.

On 25 September 2010, President Sheikh Sharif's speech at the United Nations was about promoting regional stability, security and reconstruction in Somalia.

President Sharif appointed former First Secretary of the Somali embassy in Washington, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed "Farmajo", as the new Prime Minister of Somalia in October 2010 after the resignation of Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon issued a statement commending the Somali leadership for having reached a consensus on procedural arrangements that facilitated a transparent and consultative confirmation of the new Premier.

After winning the vote in the early hours of 31 January 2009, Sheikh Ahmed was sworn in later in the day at the Kempinski hotel in Djibouti. President Ahmed vowed to form a broad-based government and invited all armed groups in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation to join the UN-sponsored reconciliation effort. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN's special envoy for Somalia, praised the "transparent" presidential vote. "We are finally seeing progress from the hard work by all sides to create an inclusive parliament," Ould-Abdallah said in a statement.

In March 2009, President Sheikh Sharif attended the Arab summit in Bagdad to get support for his fight against Al-Shabaab, and establishment of security, peace and reconciliation.

On 6 August 2009, President Sheikh Sharif and US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton held a joint press conference in Nairobi, Kenya discussing the challenges facing Somalia, and the possibility of achieving peace, stability and reconciliation for the Somalis.

On 30 September 2009, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (C.S.I.S.) in Washington hosted a statesman's forum with President Sheikh Sharif on Somalia promoting peace through international engagement.

On 10 October 2009, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed presented a speech at the General Debate of the 64th Session of the General Assembly the United Nations headquarters in New York on promoting peace, security, reconciliation and deliver humanitarian assistance.

Sheikh Sharif's party the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia signed a peace treaty with the Transitional Federal Government on 9 June 2008 in Djibouti.

As an exiled opposition leader Sheikh Sharif the former leader of the Islamic Courts Union, was in search of a headquarters for establishing a new political party, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia. In September 2007 nearly 500 delegates gathered in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, including Islamists, parliamentarians, civil society and the diaspora and adopted a constitution.

Hiiraan Online, a Somali internet magazine, recognised Sheikh Sharif as the person of the year 2006 for his profound contribution to national reconciliation.

At the time the Transitional Federal Government which was established in Mbagathi, Nairobi in 2004, was a fragile body which was divided and weak. The Ethiopian army invaded Somalia claiming that it was trying to help the Transitional Federal Government and overthrew the Islamic Court Union. Sheikh Sharif was detained by Kenyan police at the border between Kenya and Somalia in January 2007. He then met with the US Ambassador to Kenya for talks concerning cooperation with the Transitional Federal Government. After this Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed left for Yemen to meet with other Islamic Courts Union members.

Sheikh Sharif departed for Somalia in 2000 at a time when Somalia was under the control of warlords and friends could not visit each other in Mogadishu due to clan separation and mistrust. The legacy of the civil war was apparent everywhere in Somalia and Sheikh Sharif had ambitions of saving his country and his people, a dream which no one could imagine could come true at the time. He established Al Shuruuq Agency, a cultural and heritage institution and the Federation of Adolescents in Mogadishu which facilitated social interaction for young Somalis who had never before crossed the boundaries formed by the warlords. As a result, the residents of Mogadishu began to cross the lines where friends, schoolmates, and elders can come together and express themselves in a positive way. Sheikh Sharif became a regional attorney of his home province, middle Shabelle, where he was elected chairman of a provincial court in Jowhar between 2001 and 2002.

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (Somali: Shariif Sheekh Axmed, Arabic: شريف شيخ أحمد ‎; born 25 July 1964) known as "The Father of Modern Somalia" because of his achievements when he served as president of the Transitional Federal Government between 2009 and 2012. He was the 7th President of Somalia and successfully brought the Federal Government of Somalia through transitional status following the collapse of the previous governing administration in 1991. Under Sheikh Sharif's leadership, the Transitional Federal Government succeeded in driving out Al-Shabaab from the capital city and its surroundings, establishing security, peace and reconciliation through the difficult transitional period. The administration of Sharif, who was Somalia's 7th President, is also credited with developing the country's Constitution and setting up key institutions such as the police, military and judiciary.

Born on 25 July 1964 in Mahaday a town in the southern the Middle Shabelle region where he acquired the knowledge of the Islamic teachings, Arabic and the memorisation of the Qur'an as a child. Sheikh Sharif is from the Abgaal clan ( Cabdale Agoonyar) sub-clan of the Hawiye clan one of Somalia's four main clans, which dominates in the capital. He began his education at the Sheikh Sufi Institute, which was associated with Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He studied at Libyan and Sudanese universities in the mid-1990s, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Law and Islamic Shariah. Thus, his religious upbringing and education allowed him to succeed his father as the spiritual leader of the Idriseeyah sect of Sunni Islam in Somalia.