View source for Somali Democratic Republic

{{Short description|1969–1991 socialist state in the Horn of Africa}}
{{Copy edit|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{nowrap|{{small|{{native name|so|Jamhuuriyadda Dimuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed|paren=no}}}}}}<br />{{nowrap|{{small|{{native name|ar|الجمهورية الديمقراطية الصومالية|paren=no}}}}}}<br />{{nowrap|{{small|{{transliteration|ar|al-Jumhūrīyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭīyah aṣ-Ṣūmālīyed}}}}}}<br />{{nowrap|{{small|{{native name|it  |Repubblica Democratica Somala|paren=no}}}}}}
| conventional_long_name = Somali Democratic Republic
| common_name            = Somalia
| p1                     = Somali Republic
| flag_p1                = Flag of Somalia.svg
| s1                     = Interim Government of Somalia <!-- Per template, parameter is for succeeding entity, numbered 1-5 -->
| flag_s1                = Flag of Somalia.svg
| s2                     = Somaliland{{!}}Republic of Somaliland <!-- Per template, parameter is for succeeding entity, numbered 1-5 -->
| flag_s2                = Flag of Somaliland until 1996.svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Somalia.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Somalia.svg
| today                  = [[Somalia]]<br />[[Somaliland]]<sup>b</sup>
| footnote_a             = Chairman of the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]] from 1969 to 1976 and after 1980.
| footnote_b             = Somaliland is [[List of states with limited recognition|not internationally recognized]]. Its territory is considered part of Somalia. Somaliland authorities, however, hold de facto power in the region.
| common_languages       = {{hlist|[[Somali language|Somali]]|[[Arabic]]|[[English language|English]]|[[Italian language|Italian]]}}
| image_map              = Somalia (orthographic projection)-Blue version.svg
| capital                = [[Mogadishu]]
| government_type        = Unitary [[Marxist-Leninist state]]
| title_leader           = [[President of Somalia|President]]
| leader1                = [[Siad Barre]]<sup>a</sup>
| year_leader1           = 1969–1991
| title_deputy           = [[Vice President of Somalia|Vice President]]
| deputy1                = [[Mohammad Ali Samatar]]
| year_deputy1           = 1976–1991
| deputy2                = 
| year_deputy2           = 1990–1991
| era                    = [[Cold War]]<br/>[[Arab Cold War]]
| date_start             = 21 October
| year_start             = 1969
| event_start            = [[1969 Somali coup d'état|Somali coup d'état]]
| date_end               = 26 January
| year_end               = 1991
| event_end              = [[Somali Civil War]]
| currency               = [[Somali shilling]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lynch |first=Barry |title=The New Communist Third World: An Essay in Political Economy |publisher=[[Routledge|Croom Helm]] |year=1982 |isbn=0-7099-2709-6 |editor-last=Wiles |editor-first=Peter |pages=278–279 |chapter=The Somali Democratic Republic. The One That Got Away}}</ref> ([[ISO 4217|SOS]])
| stat_year1             = 1972<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rG5meGzRsd0C&pg=PA138|title=World Population 1979: Recent Demographic Estimates for the Countries and Regions of the World|first=United States Bureau of the|last=Census|date=December 23, 1980|publisher=The Bureau|via=Google Books}}</ref>
| stat_area1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 2,941,000
| calling_code           = 252
| official_languages     = [[Somali language|Somali]]
| religion               = [[Sunni Islam]]
| demonym                = Somali
| area_km2               = 637,657<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/theciaworldfactb00025gut|title=The 1991 CIA World Factbook|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
| area_rank              = 40th
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| event1                 = [[Ogaden War]]
| date_event1            = 13 July 1977
| event2                 = [[Somali Rebellion]]
| date_event2            = 10 March 1978
}}
{{Siad Barre sidebar}}
The '''Somali Democratic Republic''' ({{langx|so|Jamhuuriyadda Dimuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed}}; {{langx|ar|الجمهورية الديمقراطية الصومالية}}, {{transliteration|ar|al-Jumhūriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah aṣ-Ṣūmāliyyah}}; {{Langx|It|Democratica Somala}}) was a [[socialist state]] in Somalia that existed from 1969 to 1991.

Established in October 1969, the Somali Democratic Republic emerged following a [[1969 Somali coup d'état|coup d'état]] led by Major General [[Siyaad Barre|Mohamed Siyaad Barre]] and the [[Somali Armed Forces|Somali military]].<ref name="Jdftchoa">{{Cite book |last=Clapham |first=Christopher |title=The Cambridge History of Africa |title-link=The Cambridge History of Africa |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1984 |editor-last=Crowder |editor-first=Michael |volume=8: From c. 1940 to c. 1975 |page=475 |chapter=The Horn of Africa}}</ref><ref name="Grolierenc">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaamer25grol/mode/2up |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |publisher=[[Grolier]] |year=2001 |volume=25: Skin to Sumac |page=214 |isbn=978-0-7172-0134-1 |access-date=4 February 2025 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Myswenvwp">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/worldmarkencyclo02gale/mode/2up |title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale Research]] |year=1995 |volume=2: Africa |page=368 |access-date=6 February 2025 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Permanent Mission of the Somali Republic to the United Nations |title=Country Facts {{!}} Somalia |url=https://www.un.int/somalia/somalia/country-facts |access-date=5 August 2024 |website=www.un.int |publisher=United Nations}}</ref> The coup took place six days after the assassination of [[Abdirashid Shermarke]], the second President of the [[Somali Republic]].<ref name="Myswenvwp" /> Barre's administration governed Somalia for the next 21 years until the rise of Ethiopian-backed Somali rebel groups, which ultimately led to the government's collapse and the onset of [[Somali Civil War|civil war]] in 1991.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cordesman |first=Anthony H. |title=The Gulf And The Search For Strategic Stability |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781000302066 |publication-date=2019 |page=797 |language=English}}</ref>

==History==
{{History of Somalia}}

=== Coup d'etat ===
[[Abdirashid Shermarke]], the 2nd president of Somalia, was assassinated outside the municipal headquarters of [[Las Anod]] in Northern Somalia on 15 October 1969. Shermarke had been visiting drought-stricken areas in the northeast when the assassin, Said Yusuf Ismail, shot and killed him.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ingiriis |first=Mohamed Haji |date=April–June 2017 |title=Who Assassinated the Somali President in October 1969? The Cold War, the Clan Connection, or the Coup d'État |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48598936 |journal=African Security |publisher=Taylor & Francis |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=131–132 |doi=10.1080/19392206.2017.1305861 |jstor=48598936 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Henry Kissinger]], then [[National Security Advisor (United States)|United States National Security Advisor]], concluded that the assassin acted independently.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kissinger |first=Henry |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/LOC-HAK-510-5-8-1.pdf |title=Political Implication of Assassination of Somali President |date=20 October 1969 |type=memorandum |access-date=4 February 2025}}</ref> Sharmarke was elected in 1964 with support from the Soviet Union and other communist states during his campaign.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T00975A010000100001-8.pdf |title=Central Intelligence Bulletin |date=12 June 1967 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |page=6 |access-date=4 February 2025}}</ref>

On 21 October 1969, at 3:00 a.m., General Siyaad and the military overthrew the parliamentary government. One of the primary causes of the coup was widespread corruption and mishandling of public funds within the Somali government. Consequently, many members of the police and armed forces had become disillusioned with the direction of the country.<ref>{{Cite book |last=L. Daniels |first=Christopher |url=https://archive.org/details/somalipiracyterr0000dani/mode/2up |title=Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780810883109 |page=11 |access-date=10 February 2025 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The assassin, Ismail, was tried, tortured, and executed by the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]]. Notably, Ismail shared the same clan background as President Shermarke.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adan Sheikh |first=Mohamed |title=Arrivederci a Mogadiscio |date=1991 |publisher=Edizioni associate |isbn=9788826700700 |page=76 |language=italian}}</ref>

=== Early years ===
The [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]] (SRC), which [[1969 Somali coup d'état|came to power]] following President Shermarke's assassination, was led by Lieutenant General [[Salaad Gabeyre Kediye]] and Chief of Police [[Jama Ali Korshel]]. Kediye held the official title of "Father of the Revolution", and shortly thereafter, Barre became the head of the SRC.<ref name="Adam">{{cite book  | last = Adam  | first = Hussein Mohamed|author2=Richard Ford   | title = Mending rips in the sky: options for Somali communities in the 21st century  | publisher = Red Sea Press  | year = 1997  | page = 226  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0m9yAAAAMAAJ  | isbn = 1-56902-073-6}}</ref> The SRC arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties, dissolved the National Assembly, and suspended the constitution.<ref name="Metz3">{{Cite book |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/93016246/ |title=Somalia: A Country Study |series=Area handbook series |publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], Library of Congress |year=1993 |editor-last=Metz |editor-first=Helen Chapin |editor-link=Helen Chapin Metz |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=36–37 |isbn=978-0-8444-0775-3 |lccn=93016246 |access-date=10 February 2025}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lynch |first=Barry |title=The New Communist Third World: An Essay in Political Economy |publisher=[[Routledge|Croom Helm]] |year=1982 |isbn=0-7099-2709-6 |editor-last=Wiles |editor-first=Peter |pages=278–279 |chapter=The Somali Democratic Republic. The One That Got Away}}</ref>

The revolutionary army initiated large-scale public works programs and successfully implemented an urban and rural [[literacy]] campaign, significantly increasing the literacy rate. In addition to a [[nationalization]] program for industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy emphasized Somalia's traditional and religious ties with the [[Arab world]], leading to its membership in the [[Arab League]] (AL) in 1974.<ref name="Frankel">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/coldwar194519910002unse/mode/2up |title=The Cold War 1945-1991 |publisher=Gale Research |year=1992 |editor-last=Frankel |editor-first=Benjamin |volume=2: Leaders and Other Important Figures in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and the Third World |page=306 |access-date=10 February 2025 |url-access=registration}}</ref> That same year, Barre also served as [[Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity|chairperson]] of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU), the predecessor of the [[African Union]] (AU).<ref name="Yang">Oihe Yang, ''Africa South of the Sahara 2001'', 30th ed. (Taylor and Francis: 2000), p. 1025.</ref>

In July 1976, Barre's SRC disbanded and established the [[Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party]] (SRSP) as a one-party government based on [[scientific socialism]] and Islamic principles. The SRSP aimed to reconcile the official state ideology with the official state religion, emphasizing Muslim principles of social progress, equality, and justice. The government argued that these principles formed the core of [[scientific socialism]], along with a focus on [[self-sufficiency]], public participation, popular control, and direct ownership of the [[means of production]]. While the SRSP encouraged limited private investment, the administration's overall direction was proclaimed as [[Socialism|socialist]].<ref name=":0" />

== Ogaden campaign ==
{{main|Ogaden War}}

On 13 July 1977, the [[Ogaden War]] against [[Derg|Ethiopia]] erupted when Barre's government aimed to annex the predominantly Somali-inhabited [[Ogaden]] region into a Pan-Somali [[Greater Somalia]]. This conflict was part of a broader SNA initiative to unify all Somali territories, known as [[Greater Somalia|Soomaaliweyn]]. In the first week of the war, the [[Somali Armed Forces|Somali National Army]] achieved remarkable victories over Ethiopian forces, surprising many American military observers who maintained a neutral stance. Southern and central [[Ogaden]] were quickly captured, and throughout much of the conflict, the Somali Army continued to defeat the [[Ethiopian National Defense Force|Ethiopian Army]], advancing as far as [[Sidamo Province|Sidamo]]. By September 1977, Somalia controlled 90% of the Ogaden, capturing strategic cities like [[Jijiga]] and exerting heavy pressure on [[Dire Dawa]], thereby threatening the train route from that city to [[Djibouti]]. 

Following the siege of [[Harar]], a massive and unprecedented Soviet intervention occurred, involving 20,000 Cuban troops and several thousand Soviet advisers supporting Ethiopia's communist [[Derg]] regime. On 15 March 1978, a [[ceasefire]] was negotiated, bringing an end to the war. This shift in Soviet support prompted the Barre government to seek new allies, eventually turning to the United States, which had been courting Somalia for some time as a counter to Soviet influence. Ultimately, Somalia's initial alliance with the Soviet Union and subsequent partnership with the United States enabled it to build the largest army in Africa.<ref name="Ramsbotham">Oliver Ramsbotham, Tom Woodhouse, ''Encyclopedia of International Peacekeeping Operations'', (ABC-CLIO: 1999), p. 222. {{ISBN?}}</ref>

== New constitution ==
A new Constitution was ratified on 25 August 1979 through a [[Somali constitutional referendum, 1979|popular referendum]], leading to elections for a People's Assembly. This Constitution established a presidential system, wherein the president served as both the head of state and the head of government. As head of government, the president appointed the members of the [[Somali Council of Ministers|Council of Ministers]], which he chaired. Initially, the Constitution stipulated that the president would be elected for a six-year renewable term by a two-thirds majority vote of the legislature.<ref name="mongabay">{{cite web|url=http://www.mongabay.com/history/somalia/somalia_11490.html |title=Somalia |publisher=Mongabay.com |access-date=2012-09-18}}</ref>

== Decline ==
{{main|Somali Civil War}}
After the failed Ogaden campaign, Barre's administration began arresting government and military officials suspected of involvement in the [[1978 Somali coup attempt|1978 coup attempt]].<ref name="Ararep">''ARR: Arab report and record'', (Economic Features, ltd.: 1978), p. 602.</ref><ref name="Ahmed">{{cite web |last=Ahmed III |first=Abdul |title=Brothers in Arms Part I |url=http://wardheernews.com/Articles_2011/Oct/29_Brothers_in_Army_abdul.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503221634/http://www.wardheernews.com/Articles_2011/Oct/29_Brothers_in_Army_abdul.pdf |archive-date=May 3, 2012 |access-date=February 28, 2012 |publisher=WardheerNews}}</ref> Most of those believed to have participated in the plot were executed without trial.<ref name="Npmc">New People Media Centre, ''New people'', Issues 94–105, (New People Media Centre: Comboni Missionaries, 2005).</ref> However, several officials managed to escape abroad and began forming various dissident groups aimed at forcibly removing Barre's regime.<ref name="Fitzgerald">Nina J. Fitzgerald, ''Somalia: issues, history, and bibliography'', (Nova Publishers: 2002), p. 25.</ref>

In 1979, a new constitution was introduced, leading to elections for a People's Assembly. Despite this, Barre's Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP) continued to maintain control.<ref name="Grolierenc"/> In October 1980, the SRSP was disbanded, and the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]] was re-established in its place.<ref name=":0" /> By this time, Barre's government had become increasingly unpopular, and many Somalis were disillusioned with life under [[military dictatorship]]. The regime weakened further in the 80's as the Cold War drew to a close, diminishing Somalia's strategic importance.

The government's [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] grip<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Prunier|first=Gérard|title=Somalia: Civil War, Intervention and Withdrawal (1990–1995)|date=1996-01-01|url=https://academic.oup.com/rsq/article/15/1/35/1580140|journal=Refugee Survey Quarterly|language=en|volume=15|issue=1|pages=35–85|doi=10.1093/rsq/15.1.35|issn=1020-4067|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Somalia's Descent into Mobocracy |language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/12/28/somalias-descent-to-mobocracy/283ed1d8-1938-4b2f-bbd0-2bd62eceb84e/|access-date=2020-09-23|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> culminated in the [[Isaaq genocide]] (1987–1988), which devastated several major cities and targeted members of the [[Isaaq]] clan. Civilian death estimates range from 50,000 to 100,000<ref name="Peifer">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOgOwSXB164C&q=50%2C000+isaaq+deaths&pg=PA23|title=Stopping Mass Killings in Africa: Genocide, Airpower, and Intervention|last=Peifer|first=Douglas C.|date=2009|publisher=Diane Publishing|isbn=9781437912814|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKWiBwAAQBAJ&q=%22large+systematic+scale%22&pg=PT149|title=Making and Unmaking Nations: The Origins and Dynamics of Genocide in Contemporary Africa|last=Straus|first=Scott|date=2015|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=9780801455674|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Jones">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZybbAAAAMAAJ&q=By+then,+any+surviving+urban+Isaaks+-|title=Genocide, war crimes and the West: history and complicity|last=Jones|first=Adam|date=2017|publisher=Zed Books|isbn=9781842771914|language=en}}</ref> up to over 200,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/2/6/investigating-genocide-in-somaliland|title=Somaliland massacre|first=James|last=Reinl|date=6 February 2014|website=www.aljazeera.com}}</ref> These brutal tactics sparked [[resistance movement]]s, supported by Ethiopia, that emerged across the country and eventually led to the [[Somali Civil War]]. Among these militia groups were the [[Somali Salvation Democratic Front]] (SSDF), the [[United Somali Congress]] (USC), the [[Somali National Movement]] (SNM), and the [[Somali Patriotic Movement]] (SPM), alongside non-violent political opposition such as the [[Somali Democratic Movement]] (SDM), the [[Factions in the Somali Civil War#Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA)|Somali Democratic Alliance]] (SDA) and the Somali Manifesto Group (SMG).{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

On 26 January 1991, Barre was [[Somali Rebellion|ousted from power]], and Somalia subsequently [[History of Somalia (1991–2006)|descended into chaos]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

==Government==
The Somali Democratic Republic functioned as a unitary republic under the [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] single-party rule of first the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]], then the [[Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=AFRICAN MARXIST MILITARY REGIMES, RISE AND FALL: INTERNAL CONDITIONERS AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS |url=https://seer.ufrgs.br/rbea/article/download/97061/58862 |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=seer.ufrgs.br/rbea/article/download/97061/58862 |publisher=Brazilian Journal of African Studies |language=English |quote=[…] Military Coups of a new type, which introduced revolutionary regimes self-declared Marxist-Leninist. This is the case of Somalia (1969) and Ethiopia (1974), the most emblematic case, but also of four french-speaking countries: Congo-Brazzaville (1968), Daomey/Benin (1972-74), Madagascar (1975) and Alto Volta/Burkina Faso (1983).}}</ref> Siad Barre, as president, exercised totalitarian control through a military dictatorship.<ref>{{cite web |last=Khalif
|first= Abdulkadir |date=2024-10-26 |title=Somalia tortuous and elusive long road to true democracy |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/somalia-tortuous-and-elusive-long-road-to-true-democracy-4802734#google_vignette |website=Theeastafrican |publisher=The East African |access-date=2025-02-10 |quote=In January 1991, Siad Barre's totalitarian rule was defeated. But, rather than uniting his enemies, it worsened the crisis.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=August 1995 |title=A STUDY OF DECENTRALIZED POLITICAL STRUCTURES FOR SOMALIA*: A MENU OF OPTIONS |url=https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/default/files/document/files/2022/07/solewismayalldecentralisedstructuresoptions1995_0.pdf |website=Peacemake.un.org |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science |access-date=2025-02-10 |quote=In October 1969, General Mohamed Siad Barre took over in a military coup. Siad Barre developed a highly centralised, totalitarian state, and tried unsuccessfully to abolish clan behaviour.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date= 2020 |title= AFRICAN MARXIST MILITARY REGIMES, RISE AND FALL: INTERNAL CONDITIONERS AND INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS |url= https://seer.ufrgs.br/rbea/article/download/97061/58862 |access-date=2025-03-05 |publisher= Brazilian Journal of African Studies |language=en |quote=In contrast to Angola and Mozambique, where the Marxist component was associated with National Liberation Movements, those in Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as the four Francophone States, had Marxist Military Revolutions/Regimes after more than a decade of independence.}}</ref>
=== President ===

*[[Siyaad Barre|Mohamed Siyaad Barre]] (October 21, 1969 &ndash; January 26, 1991)

=== Prime Ministers ===
*Mohamed Farah Salad (November 1, 1969 &ndash; March 1970)
*''Post abolished (March 1970 &ndash; February 1, 1987)''
*[[Muhammad Ali Samatar]] (February 1, 1987 &ndash; September 3, 1990)
*[[Muhammad Hawadle Madar]] (September 3, 1990 &ndash; January 24, 1991)

==References==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |author=la Fosse Wiles, Peter John de |title=The New Communist Third World: An Essay in Political Economy |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgMOAAAAQAAJ&q=Somali+Democratic+Republic+%22Somali+Democratic+Republic%22 |isbn=0-7099-2709-6 |page=392}}
{{Somalia topics |state=collapsed}}
{{Socialist states}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somali Democratic Republic}}
[[Category:Former socialist republics]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1991]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1969]]
[[Category:1970s in Somalia]]
[[Category:1980s in Somalia]]
[[Category:Communism in Somalia]]
[[Category:Communist states]]
[[Category:Somali Civil War]]
[[Category:1969 establishments in Somalia]]
[[Category:1991 disestablishments in Somalia]]
[[Category:Totalitarian states]]
[[Category:1991 disestablishments in Africa]]
[[Category:Socialist states]]
[[Category:Military dictatorships]]