| Vice AdmiralMohammed Omar Osman | |
|---|---|
 Commodore Admiral Osman in formal white dress | |
| 1st Chief of the Navy | |
| In office circa. 1975 – 1991 | |
| Succeeded by | Admiral Farah Qare |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1940 (age 83–84) Italian East Africa (now Somalia) |
| Political party | |
| Alma mater |
|
| Awards | _-_ribbon_bar.gif){kind=small} Order of the Somali Star, 1st Class |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Somalia |
| Branch/service |  Somali Navy |
| Years of service | (1960's–1991) |
| Rank |  Vice Admiral |
| Commands | General Staff of the Navy |
.svg){kind=small}
Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman (born 1940) (Somali: Maxamad Cumar Cismaan) is a Somali admiral, war hero and the incumbent chairman of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).
Early life and education
He was born in Somalia, but attended secondary school in Mogadishu. He later went to Egypt where he graduated from the Naval Section of the Egyptian War College where Somali Army generals were completing their military education simultaneously, and later Admiral Osman completed his naval military education in the Soviet Union's Kuznetsov Military Academy.
Naval Service
After returning to Somalia, he was appointed a member of the central committee of the ruling Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party in the mid-1970s, then became chief of the party's Politbureau. Afterward, he was appointed commander of the Somali Navy and promoted to the rank of vice admiral, as chief of naval operations, he oversaw and commanded navy forces in the Ogaden war against the Ethiopian Navy and commanded naval infantry units to assist the Army. After the collapse of the central government in Somalia in 1991, he returned to the Somali Region in Ethiopia, where in 1998 he was chosen to be the leader of the ONLF at the Party Congress.
Chairmanship of the ONLF and later life
In the later years, Admiral Osman and his supporters had been in a power struggle against a group led by the ONLF head of Planning and Research Department, Dr. Mohamed Sirad Dalool, who was assassinated March 2009. This has reportedly led to a split in the ONLF, with one faction loyal to Admiral Osman, while another, led by Abdiwali Hussein Gas, holds Admiral Osman responsible for Dr. Dalool's death, which he has not commit, in fact, it is to be said that Dr. Dalool and Admiral Osman were very close friends and that he relied heavily on Dr. Dalool for advice and that he was a key member who was important of the party.
Notes
- ^ Biography appended to his interview with Bartamaha, 12 October 2009 (accessed 17 November 2009)
- Tobias Hagman, "The Political Roots of the Current Crisis in Region 5", p. 2, published 21 September 2007, Crisis in the Horn of Africa website
- "Ethiopia: Ogaden's ONLF breaks into two factions" Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Jimma Times, 3 March 2009 (accessed 17 November 2009)