Chief of Defence Force (Somalia)

Chief of the Defence Force

Taliyaha Ciidanka Xooga Somaaliyeed (Somali)

Coat of arms of the Armed Forces

Incumbent
Major General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh

since 9 November 2024

Somali Armed Forces
Style| Jaale
Type| Chief of staff
Status| Highest ranking military officer
Abbreviation| CDF
Appointer| President of Somalia
Term length| 2 years
Formation| 12 April 1960
First holder| Daud Abdulle Hirsi
Unofficial names| Commander of the Somali Armed Forces, Commander of the Somali National Army[1]

The Chief of Defence Force (Somali: Taliyaha Ciidanka Xooga Somaaliyeed) is the professional head of the Somali Armed Forces. He is responsible for the administration and the operational control of all branches of the Somali military (Army, Navy and Air Force) and thus is the direct superior to both the Chief of the Navy and the Chief of the Air Force. The post has however only been held by Army officers and the term limit is 2 years.[citation needed] Typically the rank held by the Chiefs is major general.

Odawa Raage served from 22 August 2019 to June 2023. He was promoted to major-general in the last days of his tenure, being listed as such in a Somali government briefing of 21 June 2023.[2][3] He was reappointed on 9 November 2024.[4]

## List of Chiefs

[edit]

### Somali Republic and Somali Democratic Republic (1960–1991)

[edit]

No. | Portrait  | Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|

| Jaale
Major general
Daud Abdulle Hirsi
(1925–1965)| 12 April 1960| 1965 †| 4–5 years| [5]

| Barre, SiadJaale
Major general
Siad Barre
(1910–1995)| 1965| 1969| 3–4 years| [6]

| Jaale
Lieutenant general
Ali Samatar
(1931–2016)| 1969| 1990| 17–18 years| –

| Jaale
Major general
Mohamed Said Hersi Morgan
(1949–2025)| 25 November 1990| 20 January 1991| 56 days| [7]

### Transitional Federal Government (2004–2012)

[edit]

No. | Portrait  | Chief of Army | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|

| Naji, Ismail QasimMajor general
Ismail Qasim Naji| 15 April 2005| 10 February 2007| 1 year, 301 days| [8]

| Omar, Abdullahi AliMajor general
Abdullahi Ali Omar
(born 1947)| 10 February 2007| 21 July 2007| 161 days| [9][10]
[11]

| Jama, Salah HassanMajor general
Salah Hassan Jama| 21 July 2007| 11 June 2008| 326 days| [12]

| Jama, Said DheereMajor general
Said Dheere Mohamed| 11 June 2008| 14 May 2009| 337 days| [13]

| Dhumal, Yusuf OsmanMajor general
Yusuf Osman Dhumal| 15 May 2009| 6 December 2009| 205 days| [14]

| Kahiye, Mohamed GelleMajor general
Mohamed Gelle Kahiye| 6 December 2009| 6 September 2010| 274 days| [15]

| Gedi, Ahmed JimaleMajor general
Ahmed Jimale Gedi| 6 September 2010| 29 March 2011| 204 days| -

| Dini, Abdulkadir Sh.Major general
Abdulkadir Sheikh Dini| 29 March 2011| 13 March 2013| 1 year, 349 days| [16][17]

### Federal Government (2012–present)

[edit]

No. | Portrait  | Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|

| Elmi, Dahir AdanMajor general
Dahir Adan Elmi| 13 March 2013| 25 June 2014| 1 year, 104 days| [17]

| Anod, AbdullahiMajor general
Abdullahi Anod| 25 June 2014| 24 September 2015| 1 year, 91 days| [18]

| Ahmed, Mohamed AdamMajor general
Mohamed Adam Ahmed
(born 1950)| 24 September 2015| 5 April 2017| 1 year, 193 days| [17]

| Jimale, Ahmed MMajor general
Ahmed Mohamed Jimale| 5 April 2017| 12 October 2017| 190 days| [19]

| Hussein, Abdiweli JMajor general
Abdiweli Jama Hussein Gorod| 12 October 2017| 16 August 2018| 308 days| [20]
(1)|

| Elmi, Dahir AdanMajor general
Dahir Adan Elmi| 16 August 2018| 27 August 2020| 2 years, 11 days| [21]

| Rageh, Odowa YusufMajor general
Odowaa Yusuf Rageh| 27 August 2020| 19 June 2023| 2 years, 296 days| [22]

| Muhyadin Addow, Ibrahim SheikhMajor general
Ibrahim Sheikh Muhyadin Addow| 19 June 2023| 9 November 2024| 1 year, 143 days| [17]
(6)|

| Rageh, Odowa YusufMajor general
Odowaa Yusuf Rageh| 9 November 2024| Incumbent| 281 days| [23]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Federal Government of Somalia's Weekly Briefing". 21 June 2023.
2. ^ "Federal Government of Somalia's Weekly Briefing". 21 June 2023.
3. ^ "Dismissed but Not Defeated: General Odowa Speaks Out on Armed Forces and Future Plans". 23 June 2023.
4. ^ "Somali Cabinet Backs Former Army Chief for Return Stint". Bloomberg News. 10 November 2024.
5. ^ Ehrenreich, Frederick (1982). "National Security". In Nelson, Harold N. (ed.). Somalia: a country study (PDF). Area Handbook (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 238. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
6. ^ Ehrenreich 1982, p. 238.
7. ^ Clarke, Walter S. (December 1992). Background Information for Operation Restore Hope (PDF). Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Strategic Studies Institute. p. 31\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
8. ^ "Somali cabinet fills key posts". Al Jazeera. 14 April 2005. Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
9. ^ "Somalia's army commander sacked as new ambassadors are appointed". Shabelle Media Network. 10 April 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
10. ^ State collapse and post-conflict ... 12 November 1998. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
11. ^ "Peaceful day for Somalia reconciliation conference". Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
12. ^ "Somalia's Interim President Appoints New Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces" Archived 4 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine hiiraan.com
13. ^ "Somali president names new military chief amid insurgent push" Archived 14 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine topnews.in
14. ^ "Somalia fires heads of police force and military" Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine reuters.com
15. ^ "Somali president fires top commanders" Archived 4 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine hiiraan.com
16. ^ "Salad Gabeyre Kediye Was a Brigadier General in the Somali Military and a Revolutionary". Banaadir Weyne. 2 April 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
17. ^ a b c d "Somalia changes its top military commanders". Shabelle Media Network. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
18. ^ "SOMALIA: President Mohamud fires senior military commanders". Raxanreeb. 25 June 2014. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
19. ^ "Somali Defense Minister, Army Chief Resign". 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
20. ^ "Army chief Gorod replaced as Farmaajo kicks out close ally from Villa Somalia". 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
21. ^ "General Dahir Adan Elmi Has Been Reappointed as the Commander of the SNA".
22. ^ "Somalia National Army Get the Youngest Commander in History".
23. ^ "Somali Cabinet Backs Former Army Chief for Return Stint". Bloomberg News. 10 November 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Chief of the Somali Armed Forces

Somali Republic|

* Daud Abdulle Hirsi
* Mohamed Siad Barre

Somali Democratic Republic|

* Mohamed Siad Barre
* Mohamed Ali Samatar

Transitional Federal Government|

* Ismail Qasim Naji
* Abdullahi Ali Omar
* Salah Hassan Jama
* Said Dheere Mohamed
* Yusuf Osman Dhumal
* Mohamed Gelle Kahiye
* Ahmed Jimale Gedi
* Abdulkadir Sheikh Dini

Federal Republic of Somalia|

* Abdulkadir Sheikh Dini
* Dahir Adan Elmi
* Abdullahi Anod
* Mohamed Adam Ahmed
* Ahmed Mohamed Jimale
* Abdiweli Jama Hussein Gorod
* Dahir Adan Elmi
* Odowaa Yusuf Rageh

* v
* t
* e

Chiefs of defence by country

Chief of Defence

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* DR Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* Somaliland
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

former|

* Biafra
* Bophuthatswana
* Ciskei
* British Egypt
* Ethiopian Empire
* Rhodesia
* Transkei
* Venda
* Zaire

Americas|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Secretariat of National Defense
* Secretariat of the Navy
* Nicaragua
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* AJA
* IRGC
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

former|

* Democratic Kampuchea
* Imperial Japan
* Mengjiang
* Manchukuo
* South Vietnam

Europe|

* Abkhazia
* Albania
* Armenia
* Artsakh
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Georgia
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Northern Cyprus
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* South Ossetia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Transnistria
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Vatican

former|

* Austria–Hungary
* Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Independent State of Croatia
* Czechoslovakia
* Prussia
* Imperial Germany
* Nazi Germany
* East Germany
* Ottoman Empire
* Russian Empire
* Republika Srpska
* Republic of Serb Krajina
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Tonga
* Vanuatu

Supranational|

* European Union
* NATO

former|

* Warsaw Pact

* v
* t
* e

Somali National Armed Forces

Ministries|

* Defence

Somali Armed Forces|

* Army
* Division "12 April"
* Division 43
* Division 60
* Division 27
* Division 54
* Danab Brigade
* Army Music Corps
* Navy
* Air Force
* (historically, not currently, also included Police and Custodial Corps, now under different Ministries)

Commanders|

* Chief of Defence Force
* Chief of the Navy
* Chief of the Air Force

Personnel|

* Military ranks
* Equipment

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