Abdirahman Saylici

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Abdirahman Saylici

| office = 6th Vice President of Somaliland

| image = Abdirahman Abdallahi Ismail Saylici, Vice President of Somaliland (6409719759).jpg

| caption = Saylici in 2011

| president = Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud
Muse Bihi Abdi

| term_start = 27 July 2010

| term_end = 12 December 2024

| predecessor = Ahmed Yusuf Yasin

| successor = Mohamed Aw-Ali Abdi

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|10|28|df=y}}

| birth_place = Zeila, British Somaliland
{{small|(now Somaliland)}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| citizenship = Somalilander

| alma_mater = Hargeisa Technical Institute

| party = Peace, Unity, and Development Party

| native_name_lang = ar

| native_name = {{nobold|عبد الرحمن زيلعي}}

}}

Abdirahman Abdillahi Ismail Saylici ({{langx|so|Cabdiraxmaan Cabdilaahi Ismaaciil Saylici}}, {{langx|ar|عبد الرحمن عبد الله إسماعيل زيلعي}}) (born 28 October 1956){{Cite web |url=http://www.somaliland-mission.com/47-website/305-somaliland-vice-president.html |title=Somaliland Vice President |access-date=2018-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717041741/http://www.somaliland-mission.com/47-website/305-somaliland-vice-president.html |archive-date=2018-07-17 |url-status=dead }} is a Somaliland politician and former businessman who served as Vice President of Somaliland from 2010 to 2024, after winning the election of 2010 together with Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo. He continued as vice president in the cabinet of Muse Bihi Abdi. Both are members of the Peace, Unity, and Development Party.

Overview

Abdirahman was born on 28 October 1956 in Zeila, then British Somaliland (now Somaliland). He completed his primary and intermediate education in Borama, the capital of the western Awdal region after which he then moved to Hargeisa to pursue his higher education. He attended the Hargeisa Technical Institute between 1975 and 1979 where he graduated as a construction engineer.

Before entering politics, Abdirahman was a businessman. He ran Borama Construction Company (BCC), which contributed to the building of many regions of Somaliland between 1980 and 2002.

= Political career =

In 2003 Abdirahman joined the Kulmiye party, and in 2008 he was appointed the vice-chairman of the party and the running mate of Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Silanyo). In the presidential elections of 2010, Abdirahman Abdillahi Ismail was elected Vice-President of Somaliland.{{Cite book |last=Lansford |first=Tom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNGfBwAAQBAJ&dq=abdirahman+saylici&pg=PT5625 |title=Political Handbook of the World 2015 |date=2015-03-24 |publisher=CQ Press |isbn=978-1-4833-7155-9 |language=en}} He ran alongside Muse Bihi Abdi in the subsequent 2017 election where he was re-elected as vice-president.{{Cite web |date=2017-08-09 |title=BRIEFING PAPER: SOMALILAND VOTER CARDS DISTRIBUTION |url=http://www.somalilandpress.com/briefing-paper-somaliland-voter-cards-distribution/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Somalilandpress|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809233207/http://www.somalilandpress.com/briefing-paper-somaliland-voter-cards-distribution/ |archive-date=2017-08-09 }}

In the 2024 election, Saylici endorsed presidential challenger Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi instead of his former ally Muse Bihi Abdi.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-11 |title=Somaliland Vice President breaks ranks to back opposition Waddani Party ahead of election |url=https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2024/Nov/198875/somaliland_vice_president_breaks_ranks_to_back_opposition_waddani_party_ahead_of_election.aspx |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=Hiiraan Online |language=en-US}} The Muse government lost power and Abdirahman's administration was inaugurated on December 12, 2024.{{Cite web |last=Faruk |first=Omar |date=2024-12-12 |title=Somaliland's new president is sworn in after elections that boosted region's drive for recognition |url=https://apnews.com/article/somaliland-inauguration-abdirahman-mohamed-abdullahi-736f65dc3c4a4474ede1db990e57db7f |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=AP News |language=en}}