Profile: Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali...+ CV

[General Duke]

 

Presidential candidate Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali was born in Dhusamareeb, Galgudud State in central Somalia on 02 July 1965 to Mr. Mohamed Ali Gaas and Ms. Fadumo Yusuf. Dr. Abdiweli holds both Somali and American citizenship and is multilingual with strong command of Arabic and Italian and fluency in Somali and English.

 

Candidate Dr. Abdiweli is a renowned international scholar. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the Somali National University, graduating with highest honors in 1984. Dr. Abdiweli then relocated to the United States for post-graduate studies in 1986 after being awarded the prestigious AFGRAD Fellowship. In two years (1988), he obtained a Master's degree from Vanderbilt University in Economics. Between 1994-1995 and 1995-1998, Dr. Abdiweli was a Bradley Fellow at George Mason University's Department of Economics and Center for Study of Public Choice, respectively.

 

In 1998-1999, Ali was a Joel Fellow of Political Economy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he earned a Certificate of Taxation from Harvard Law School in 1999 and a Master's degree in Public administration the same year. In 2000, Dr. Abdiweli obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University.

 

Candidate Dr. Abdiweli has a long and distinguished professional career as a professor, Research & Forecast Manager, prolific author, Consultant for international organizations, including the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program, and an active social-political life in service to Somalia.

 

Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali was appointed Prime Minister on June 23, 2011, and received an overwhelming 437 votes of the 441 present Members of Parliament (2 voted against it and 2 abstained)—a national record!

 

He is credited for devising Somalia’s now-successful peace process, mostly referred to as the “Roadmap to End the Transitional period". With strong international support and a nation yearning for peace, Dr. Abdiweli devised the implementation plan for executing this political process which has now set the country for new political dispensation.

 

We believe that Dr. Abdiweli is the most competent and experienced candidate to lead Somalia in this challenging period. He is the only candidate with all the pre-requisite of the right leader at this time. He has proven, as Prime Minister to have a genuine concern and solutions for the endless problems in Somalia. He has shown courage in fighting terrorists and has even survived assassination attempts. Dr. Abdiweli is not just any other ‘politician’. He is the candidate with the vision and the mission for a stable, democratic and economically reviving Somalia.

 

As a scholar, Dr. Abdiweli’s main academic areas of concentration were public finance, public choice, international trade and institutional building. We believe his expertise is needed in rebuilding Somalia’s public institutions, economic cooperation with the East African region and the effective management of Somalia’s meager resources.

 

Dr. Abdiweli is happily married to Dr. Hodan Isse, an Economics and Finance professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The couple have four children (three boys and a girl).

[General Duke]

http://drabdiweligaas.com/en/img/PM%20Abdiweli%20CV.pdf

[General Duke]

The Shared Vision:

 

"United People, Resilient Nation, Beautiful Country"

 

The divisive experience of brutal civil war must be overcome by rebuilding a united people.

 

In contemporary and competitive world, Somalia must build a resilient nation with a strong economy.

 

The purpose of development is the improvement in the welfare of the people, a beautiful country, a high quality of life, with a healthy environment, and adequate basic social and economic infrastructure.

 

I hold true that no nation rebuilding is possible without a vision and no vision is achievable without unity and collective responsibility.

 

Ever since the adoption of the National Roadmap to a permanent and stable government in September, 2011, all predictions have overwhelmingly shown that there is the desire among the entire Somali people to work hard, strive for excellence and rebuild a beautiful Somalia.

 

My vision, like all other visioning exercises, is first and foremost a collective effort to design a better future. It is premised on the basic principle that reconciliation, rehabilitation and development starts and ends with my people. It is a paradigm to showcase that my people are willing and ready to work together to rebuild our nation. The hard-work invested in the Roadmap process has empowered the Somali people to believe with every fiber of conviction that NOW IS THE TIME TO TURN THE CORNER!And that a better future can be created with the commitment by all.

 

In essence, we are craving for a national renaissance. We want to blend the best of our Islamic and African traditions with the best of the developed nations and other traditions to establish a unique and vibrant Somali society that is robust and would provide a basis for national transformation.

 

If you entrust me to be your President, I will work hard to foster national unity, where Somalis are united, live in peace and harmony. I will waste not a single minute to work on a new Somalia with firm foundations in democratic principles, rule of law and justice for all. My ultimate goal is to see dynamic, open, free, enlightened and truly integrated Somalia, at peace with itself and its neighbors — a nation that encourages and nurtures its talents, a nation that is an active participant in the Global Affairs.

 

As an economist, I envision community-based, demand-driven and sustainable development activities, leading to the alleviation of poverty and reduction in the threat of renewed conflict. I will be a listening President, responsible, responsive, effective, and accountable to my countrymen and women.

 

With my strong academic background and real experiences with the mosaic of problems in Somalia, I will work to consult my people to execute the most effective and sustainable solutions to and a way out of the conflict and poverty quagmire, and a crucial means of getting our youth to become a productive segment of the society. I will ensure that the nation rebuilding process is people-centered, strategic and long-term in orientation.

 

My plan is the people’s plan. I will strive to ensure national ownership of the rebuilding process to strengthen the nascent democratic culture, and to support a more participatory reconciliation process. Specifically, my plan is a strategic analysis of Somalia’s past and its present circumstances. I wish to continue with the alternative tendency I have set out over the past year—an increasing sense of security, effective response to domestic crises, credible reconciliation efforts, strong and increasing ties with regional administrations and our international partners. In due course and hopefully within the next four years, it is my humble wish to create a stable and well-to-do future for all Somalis.

 

As the next president, I promise to nominate a competent, capable and a highly ethical Prime Minister who I will encourage to form a lean, inclusive and technocratic cabinet that will quickly execute our national agenda, of which, rehabilitation of schools, health facilities, housing and roads as well as equal and adequate access to clean water supply should be central.

 

As a president and symbol of our national, I will guide Somalia towards a new direction, a fresh start away from labels such as: “the world’s worst failed state” – back to the proud independent nation we’ve always been, a nation of autonomous, vital, self-reliant men and women, the nation of poets, respected in this part of the world for nearly a millennia. Somalia is more than hungry faces in the news, pirates or extremists; it is a diverse, rich land with historical pedigree.

[General Duke]

This month, Somalia will finally get a permanent constitution and government after years of transitional institutions. Despite two decades of civil war and unrest, the Somali capital of Mogadishu is currently undergoing an economic rejuvenation, with commerce, with banking and even tourism making a comeback.

 

What can explain this? While the recent presence of African Union troops has provided greater security, allowing the entrepreneurial spirit of the Somali people to flourish, less recognition has been given to Somalia’s own leadership. In particular, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government, has played a central role in Somalia’s revival.

 

Over the past two decades, one of the major impediments to ending the turmoil has been the lack of strong, non-partisan leadership, with the country being torn apart by warring factions. More recently, the transitional government was split in a stand-off between President Ahmed and Prime Minister Sharmarke. The political feud brought the machinery of government to a halt and seemed to put an end to hopes that the transitional government might succeed in restoring stability. But since Ali’s appointment in June last year, the new Prime Minister has been at the forefront of the fight for peace, prosperity, and democracy.

 

It turns out that his sober, technocratic approach to politics was just what the country needed. Under Ali’s “Roadmap for the End of Transition”, representatives from across the country are working to create permanent democratic institutions by 20th August. For the first time, popular legitimacy is the end-goal. Under Ali’s leadership, a draft constitution has been ratified by a council of 825 Somali traditional elders, and will be put to a national referendum, paving the way for democratic elections in the near future. The constitution gives unprecedented control to Somalia’s independently-minded regions – which will even be granted powers over foreign policy – and guarantees that women will make up at least 30 per cent of parliamentarians, as well as constitutionally enshrining their right to an abortion when the mother’s health is in danger.

 

This political progress is all the more remarkable considering that Prime Minister Ali came to power in the midst of the worst drought in East Africa for over half a century. Not only did he manage to push forward plans for democratic institutions, but his response to the crisis itself showed tremendous ability in bringing the disparate bureaucratic forces of government into a single committee to tackle the issue.

 

His premiership has also seen the dramatic reversal of fortunes in the battle against the miliant Islamist group Al-Shabaab, who have been driven from Mogadishu and are now limited to parts of Southern Somalia. His willingness to cooperate with the Kenyan military in the coordinated Linda Nchi operation and ongoing support for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has led to notable and continuing success against the militant group.

 

This domestic success has allowed him to score significant international political victories as well. Under his leadership, various foreign dignitaries and VIPs have visited Somalia personally, including Turkish PM Recep Erdoğan, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and Saudi business heavyweight Al-Waleed Bin Talal – as well as the British Foreign Secretary and German Development Minister. Such visits would not have even been considered this time last year, and do much to raise Somalia’s international profile and secure much-needed political and financial support for the recovery.

 

Perhaps the most striking symbol of his success was moving the UN Headquarters for Somalia back to Mogadishu after 17 years in Nairobi. This was a powerfully symbolic act for a country struggling to reassert its national identity, forcing international actors to get involved directly in the country they’re supposed to be helping.

 

But perhaps his most lasting legacy will be his personal example. Prime Minister Ali shows what the new Somalia needs to embrace: a measured, moderate, and ultimately constructive approach to politics. The future of Somali leadership should not be modeled on personal heroism, but on calmly and competently balancing different interests to defend the general interest.

 

(Muddassar Ahmed is the CEO of Unitas Communications Ltd, an international strategic communications consultancy based in London. He is also Chairman of the John Adams Society UK and a NATO Young Atlantacist Fellow.)

[General Duke]

[General Duke]

Timeline of Dr. Abdiweli M Ali

 

08/20/2003-Present

 

Niagara University, Department of Commerce,Lewiston, NY

 

Associate Professor of Economics

 

- Taught Advanced Quantitative Methods: The course stresses practical applications of statistics to business. Topics covered include factor analysis, nonparametric statistics, chi square, multiple regression, time series analysis, and statistical process control. Each student is required to complete a project using statistics in solving a realistic business problem.

 

- Taught Managerial Economics: This course is a combined Microeconomics and Macroeconomic analysis. The microeconomic component of the course examines decision making by the individual economic unit, addressing such topics as: demand and supply, price and output determination, cost behavior, profit maximization, and competition. The macroeconomic component examines models to explain: national output, inflation, and unemployment; and how fiscal and monetary policies stabilize the economy.

 

- Taught Money and Banking: This course covers the functioning of the money and banking system and its relationship with the rest of the economy. The course considers the nature of money, the markets that allocate money to a variety of uses, the institutions that create and control the money stock, the flow of money and how it is related to employment levels, GDP, inflation and interest rates, and international financial matters. Much attention is paid to problems and issues requiring the attention of policymakers. Special attention is given to the role of the Federal Reserve System as it affects the economy through the monetary policy.

 

- Taught Intermediate Microeconomics: This course covers intermediate level microeconomics theory relevant to business decision-making. The course is intended to give students an understanding of the economic environment within which businesses operate and to help you to learn to use economics to analyze the reasons for business decision-making and how economic decisions are generally made.

 

- Taught Economic Growth and Development: This course introduce students to the study of the process of modern economic development. In doing so, it examines how standard micro-and macro-economic theories apply in the presence of the market failures and weak formal institutions that characterize developing countries. In the course of defining what development is, economists and social scientists use terms like poverty, inequality, illiteracy, quality of life, etc. Economic theory provides the fundamentals, a skeleton that can best serve as the framework for discussions about economic development. At the completion of this course, students will have a better understanding of what is meant by “development.” Students will also be familiar with several theories of development, and what implications they have for this important part of the world. Finally, this course will not focus on any country or region in particular, but will present the experiences of a number of countries to illustrate major points.

 

- Taught Global Economics: This course examines the interdependence of economies to explain macroeconomic developments in a global context. Models are developed to explain Gross Domestic Product, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, and how economic policy at the national level is impacted by economic policy and economic conditions abroad. This course examines capital markets, foreign exchange markets, and labor markets in both a national and international context. Case studies and current economic developments are examined in a global perspective.

[General Duke]

Harvard University cambridge, MA

 

Teaching Fellow, Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID)

 

Assisted the core faculty in teaching the summer executive program on environmental economics and policy analysis (EEPA). My assignment was to teach and assist with the research projects of students taking the methods track (which is heavy in economic theory and quantitative methods).Prepared course material for class presentation.Held after class review sessions and if necessary one-on-one tutoring.Graded problem sets, homework assignments and final course papers.