Mohamed Abdi Gaboose

Mohamed Abdi Gaboose is a Somaliland politician and medical doctor who twice served as the Minister of Interior of Somaliland, first under President Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal around 1998 and later under President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Silanyo) from July 2010 until his resignation in August 2011.

He is a trained neurologist and co-founder of the Haldoor Multi-Specialty Hospital in Hargeisa. Throughout his political career, Gaboose has been an outspoken public figure known for his criticism of government policies and his calls for political reconciliation within Somaliland.

Biography Gaboose was born in 1956 or 1957. Gaboose hails from the Habar Yoonis sub-clan of the Isaaq clan.

Interior Minister (1st term) In 1998, while serving as Minister of Interior under President Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, Mohamed Abdi Gaboose visited Malko-Durduro—reported as one of the sites of the Isaaq genocide—guided by police commander Elmi Roble Furre.

Interior Minister (2nd term) On 26 June 2010, following President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud “Silanyo”’s election victory, Gaboose and two others were appointed as ministers in the new administration. In September 2011, President Silanyo appointed Mohamed Nur Arale (Duur) as Minister of Interior to replace the resigned Gaboose.

Umada Party and 2012 Somaliland municipal elections In late 2011, Gaboose established a new political party named UMADDA (Ururka Maaraynta Danta Dalka, Organization for the Management of the National Interest) and became its chairman.

Under the Somaliland Constitution, the number of political parties is limited to three and they are reselected every ten years. On 28 November 2012, a nationwide vote was held; seven political groups—including Umadda—competed, and Kulmiye, Waddani, and UCID were recognized as the three parties, while Umadda failed to qualify. After that, Gaboose retired from political activities.

In April 2021, approaching the age of seventy and feeling a decline in his abilities, Gaboose announced his retirement as both a politician and a physician, stating that he would hand over the management of his medical enterprise to his children.