Mohamed Nur

Mohamoud Ahmed Nur (, ) is a Somali politician. He served as the mayor of Mogadishu from 2010 to 27 February 2014.

Background

Personal life Nur was born to a family from the Udejeen sub-clan of the Hawiye. He was raised in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

He is married to Shamis, with whom he has six children and grandchildren from four of them.

When the Somali Civil War broke out in the early 1990s, he and his family emigrated to London in 1993. The family initially stayed in Hackney, later relocating to the North West neighborhood, where they are still based. Nur is a civil engineer and entrepreneur by profession.

In an administrative capacity, he worked as a business advisor to the Islington Council in London.

Since taking office, Nur's administration enacted a number of reforms in a bid to improve the city's security and service delivery, including starting a garbage collection program, erecting proper streetlights and providing around-the-clock electricity, sacking corrupt public officials, and offering formal police protection. The municipal government also firmed up on traffic safety, fining motorists who drive without lights, in the wrong street lanes or carrying excessive loads. Nur recognized the opportunity to transform Mogadishu although resources were limited. He sought external expertise and international cooperation, yet was also careful to establish any partnerships.

The evicted militants periodically continue to issue death threats to Nur via text messages and by telephone. He narrowly escaped a planted car bomb in 2011 and a road-side explosive device the following year, which killed six army soldiers. Nur consequently entrusts his security detail to his cousin and travels around the city in an armoured convoy with personal guards. The project was part of the ongoing modernization and development of the capital. According to Nur, the initiative also aims to help the authorities firm up on security and resolve housing ownership disputes. The project was sufficiently successful to transform United Nations strategy and partner with the initiative. Having witnessed the rapid gains the UN shifted its strategy and overtook the project, but lacked strong community ties, and the success of the project diminished over time.

The same month, Nur was named deputy minister for Youth Sports in Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed's new cabinet. Nur declined the position at a press conference, stating that he had not been consulted about the nomination.

On 27 February 2014, Nur was replaced as mayor of Mogadishu with Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab, a former military court chairman. Part of a security sector reform, the appointment was made by presidential decree after consultations between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and Interior Minister Abdullahi Godah Barre. In November 2014, Mohamed Nur announced the creation of the Social Justice Party, which has justice, unity and development platform.

BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding wrote a documentary book about Mohamed Nur entitled The Mayor of Mogadishu: A Story of Chaos and Redemption in the Ruins of Somalia (2016).