Abdirahman Omar Osman
{{Short description|Somali politician (1965–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Abdirahman Omar Osman
Eng. Yarisow
| image = 2017-04 19 Yarisow Moalimuu-3 (cropped).png
| office = 37th Mayor of Mogadishu
| president = Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
| primeminister = Hassan Ali Khaire
| term_start = 21 January 2018
| term_end = 1 August 2019
| predecessor = Thabit Abdi Mohammed
| successor = Omar Muhamoud Finnish
| birth_date = {{birth date|1965|8|16|df=y}}
| birth_place = Mogadishu, Somalia
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|8|01|df=y|1965|8|16}}
| occupation = Politician
| party = Independent
| death_cause = Assassination from injuries sustained in a suicide attack
| office1 = Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister of Somalia
| term_start1 = October 2008
| term_end1 = February 2009
| office2 = Minister of Treasury
| term_start2 = August 2009
| term_end2 = July 2010
| office3 = Minister of Information
| term_start3 = July 2010
| term_end3 = December 2010
}}
Abdirahman Omar Osman (also known as Abdirahman Yariisow{{Cite web|url=https://www.garoweonline.com/so/news/somalia/magacyada-iyo-sawirrada-dadkii-loo-qabtay-qaraxii-zoobe-oo-la-shaaciyay|title = Magacyada iyo sawirrada dadkii loo qabtay Qaraxii Zoobe oo la shaaciyay| date=30 June 2020 }} and Engineer Yarisow; 16 August 1965 – 1 August 2019) was a Somali politician who was the Governor of Banaadir and Mayor of Mogadishu. Abdirahman Omar Osman, also known as Eng. Yarisow, was involved in Somali politics for the last 12 years of his life. He served the Government of Somalia as a senior advisor, Minister of Information twice, Minister of Treasury, spokesperson of the government, Senior Media & Strategic Communications Advisor and Senior Advisor & Spokesperson of the Office of the President.
Early life
Abdirahman Omar Osman was born on 16 August 1965 in the district of Hodan, Mogadishu. Osman obtained a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Somali National University before fleeing the Civil War in 1991 and arriving as a refugee in London. There he received an NVQ Level 2 in Business Administration and a Certificate of Higher Education in computing at a college{{which|date=May 2022}}. He then earned a master's degree from the University of Westminster in 2004,{{cite web|url=http://moi.gov.so/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Yarisow-CV-19-March-2017.pdf|title=Yarisow CV|date=19 March 2017|via=moi.gov.so|access-date=28 August 2019|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111160301/http://moi.gov.so/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Yarisow-CV-19-March-2017.pdf|url-status=dead}} and served as a Labour Party councilor.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-mayor-idUSKCN1UK2F5|title = Mogadishu mayor, once a London councillor, wounded in a blast|newspaper = Reuters|date = 25 July 2019|last1 = Houreld|first1 = Abdi Sheikh}} He was granted corporate membership of the UK Chartered Institute of Housing in 2006. In 2008, he returned to Somalia to help rebuild the country after the war.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-49197036|title=Abdirahman Omar Osman, Mogadishu mayor, dies after suicide bombing|work=BBC News|date=August 2019}}
Mayor of Mogadishu
Osman was appointed Mayor of Mogadishu following the dismissal of the then Mayor, Thabit Abdi Mohammed, by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on 21 Septembre 2017.
Death and international reactions
On 24 July 2019, a female suicide bomber entered and blew herself up inside Osman's Mogadishu mayoral office, killing six government officials and injuring nine of Osman's staff.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/world/africa/mogadishu-mayor-dead.html|title=Mogadishu Mayor Dies of Injuries From Suicide Bombing|agency=Reuters|date=2019-08-01|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-01|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} James C. Swan, the recently appointed diplomat and special envoy to Somalia of the United States of America, was the target of the bomber, but Swan had met the mayor earlier, leaving before the blast occurred.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49100440|title=Suicide bomber kills six in attack on Mogadishu mayor's office|date=July 24, 2019|via=www.bbc.com}} Osman was critically wounded in the attack, and he died from his injuries a week later on 1 August 2019, after having been transported to and hospitalised in Doha, Qatar.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49197036|title=Abdirahman Omar Osman, Mogadishu mayor, dies after suicide bombing|date=August 1, 2019|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}
Osman was mourned by members{{Who|date=July 2025}} of the international community, including Swan, who condemned the attack as 'heinous.' His life was also commemorated for his long years of civil service and objective to improve Somalia's unfavourable conditions. The East African Islamist terrorist organisation al-Shabaab (the Somalian-based jihadist splinter of al-Qaeda) declared its responsibility for the orchestrating of the attack, claiming that the suicide bomber was one of their militants.{{Cite web|date=2019-08-01|title=Mayor of Mogadishu dies as result of al-Shabaab attack|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/01/mayor-of-mogadishu-dies-as-result-of-al-shabaab-attack-somalia|access-date=2022-01-19|website=the Guardian|language=en}}
It is believed that Ikran Tahlil Farah, a former employee of Osman, who was herself abducted in Mogadishu in June 2021 and remains missing, may have been in possession of sensitive information regarding the attack.{{Cite web|title=Somali intelligence top brass accused of killing female employee|url=https://www.keydmedia.net/news/somali-intelligence-top-brass-accused-of-killing-female-employee|access-date=2021-10-01|website=KEYDMEDIA ONLINE|date=13 July 2021 |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osman, Abdirahman Abdi}}
Category:Assassinated Somalian politicians
Category:People assassinated by the Al-Shabaab (militant group)
Category:Deaths by suicide bomber
Category:Information ministers of Somalia
Category:Finance ministers of Somalia
Category:Somali National University alumni
Category:Alumni of the University of Westminster
Category:Place of birth missing
Category:Assassinated governors and heads of sub-national entities
Category:21st-century governors
Category:African politicians assassinated in the 2010s
Category:Politicians assassinated in 2019