Hassan Ali Mire

On 15 October 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod, Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on 21 October 1969, in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition – essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, who at the time commanded the army.[5] The new Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that seized power subsequently named Mire as the Minister of Education in its first post-coup Cabinet. He resigned after nine months of his appointment to the office.[6]

In 1978, a group of officials mainly from Mire's own Majeerteen clan, including Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, participated in an abortive attempt to overthrow Barre's dictatorial administration.[7][8] Most of the people who had helped plot the coup were summarily executed, but Ahmed and several other colonels managed to escape abroad.[7] Later that year, in adjacent Ethiopia, Mire and Ahmed formed a rebel movement called the Somali Salvation Front, with Ahmed serving as Chairman.[3][8] The organization was subsequently renamed the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) in 1979. It was the first of several opposition groups dedicated to ousting Barre's regime by force.[8]

In 1986, following Ahmed's imprisonment a few months earlier by the Ethiopian authorities, Mire was elected as the SSDF's new Chairman.[3] Under his direction, the organization adhered to a moderate policy demanding free elections and the removal of foreign military bases.[3]

In 1990, on the eve of the civil war in Somalia and the toppling of Barre's regime, Mire was among the signatories of a manifesto advocating national reconciliation. As a representative of the SSDF, Mire opposed any military rule.[9] Other signatories of the document included Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, Somalia's first president, and around 100 additional Somali politicians.[10]