❝This meticulously researched book offers a comprehensive and fascinating insight into the personal and political life of the legendary figure who played a pivotal role in Somalia's emergence as an independent African nation. Readers are taken through Somalia's tumultuous history, including the colonial era and the struggle for independence.
First of its kind, what sets this biography apart from others is the rich and diverse sources the author draws from. These include Aden Abdulla's personal diary and official government communications that provide a rare glimpse into the man, and his politics and social milieu. These materials, which have never before been fully considered in a published work, offer a fascinating and unique insight into Somalia's character and political upheaval during his presidency. It detailed his innermost thoughts and feelings on political matters and personal struggles. This book is a treasure trove rich in resource for historians. It provides readers with a rare and intimate view of the man at the centre of Somalia's political landscape. Writing this biography was not without its challenges.
A must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the complexities of this fascinating period in Somali history. "President Aden Abdulla: His Life & Legacy" is a brilliantly written, thoroughly researched piece of literature that will shape how Somali political biographies are written for generations to come.❞
- Mohammed Abdullah Artan
Directing Manager of Looh Press
Mohamed Issa Trunji was born in Beledweyn, Somalia, in 1943. After the Secondary School in 1962, he joined the Ministry of Education as Teacher for elementary school pupils. In 1964 he joined the staff of the National Assembly of Somalia (Parliament) as interpreter, a position he held until October 1969. In 1972, after graduating from Somalia National University, Faculty of Law, he joined the Ministry of Justice as judge, a position he held until 1980. From 1981, after completing a Diploma Course at the University College London (UCL) in Maritime Law, he became member of the Somalia delegation to the annual sessions of the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea held in Geneva, New York and Kingston, Jamaica, which ended with the adoption in 1982 of the Third UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In 1983 he was placed on secondment to the office of the National Commission for Refugees (NRC) as Chairman of the Eligibility Committee, a position he held up to 1991. From 1992 to 2005, he served the United Nations Agency for the Refugees, the UNHCR, as Senior Protection Officer in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Ethiopia and Zambia. After retirement in 2005, he enrolled on a Master's Degree in International Human Rights Law at the University of Essex, UK, graduating in 2006. For his dissertation, he wrote a paper entitled 'Prosecution of past Human Rights Violations", a subject closely related to the events of the last three decades in Somalia. He is the author of 'Somalia The Untold History: 1941-1969' (Looh Press, 2015); 'President Aden Abdulla: His Life & Legacy' (Looh Press, 2023).