US embassy cable - 90MOGADISHU10380

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOGADISHU 10380 
 
 
DEPT ALFO FOR INR/B 
 
E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR 
TAGS: PINR, PREL, SO, ET, YE, EG, SU, SA 
SUBJECT: MOGADISHU MONTHLY BIOGRAPHIC WRAP-UP 
 
REF: MOGADISHU 9512 
 
1.  CONFIDENTIAL--ENTIRE TEXT. 
 
2.  MRS. ASHA HASSAN ABADA.  MEMBER, OFFICE OF ASIA AND 
SOCIALIST COUNTRIES, SOMALIA MFA.  OGADENI CLAN. 
HUSBAND IS COMMANDER OF THE SOMALIA MILITIA.  SISTER 
IS MARRIED TO AN AMERICAN AND LIVES IN EULESS, TEXAS. 
 
3.  ABDALLA T. YUSUF-KHALID ("MR KHALID").  BORN 1954 
NEAR LAS ANOD, NORTHERN SOMALIA.  DOLBAHANTE CLAN. 
CHIEF OF MINISTER'S STAFF, SOMALI MINISTRY  OF PUBLIC 
WORKS.  PREVIOUSLY WORKED IN THE OFFICE OF ARAB AFFAIRS, 
SOMALI MFA.  GRADUATED FROM UNIVERSITY OF BAGWDAD 1980, 
MAJORED IN POLITICAL SCIENCE.  WIFE AND INFANT CHILD 
LIVE IN GENEVA.  WIFE OBTAINED DEGREE IN COMMUNITY 
HEALTH FROM A UNIVERSITY IN SEATTLE.  A POLISHED AND 
ARTICULATE OFFICIAL. 
 
4.  ISMAIL ALI WARSAME, DIRECTOR OF PROTOCOL, SOMALI MFA 
(SINCE 1990).  GADABOURSI CLAN. STUDIED IN KIEV.  MARRIED 
IN 1987. NO CHILDREN.  PREVIOUS POSTINGS INCLUDE DEPUTY 
DIRECTOR OF PROTOCOL, YUGOSLAVIA, NIGERI/. 
 
5.  ABDIRAHMAN FARAH ISMAEL, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF ARAB 
AFAIRS, SOMALI MFA.  HAWIYE/HABR GID'R CLAN.  BORN 
1935.  FORMER AMBASSADOR TO EGYPT AND LIBYA.  USED TO 
TEACH SOCIAL SCIENCES AT A SOMALI HIGH SCHOOL.  MARRIED 
WITH FOUR CHILDREN.  SPEAKS SOME ENGLISH, BUT PREFERS 
TO USE INTERPRETER.  CAUTIOUS AND SOMEWHAT TACITURN. 
 
6.  FATHI HASSAN, EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR TO SOMALIA.  THE 
AMBASSADOR'S PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENT WAS DEPUTY HEAD OF THE 
EGYPTIAN MFA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE FOR RELATIONS WITH THE 
ISRAELIS.  IN THAT CAPACITY HE VISITED TEL AVIV AND ONE 
WESI BANK TOWN. 
 
7.  MOHAMED Y. ALNASHRI, COUNSELLOR AND CDA, YEMEN 
EMBASSY, MOGADISHU.  ALNASHRI ONLY STAYS IN MOGADISHU 
WHEN THE YEMENI AMBASSADOR IS GONE.  DOES NOT LIKE 
MOGADISHU. 
 
8.  MAHMOUD FADL ABDELRASOUL, SECOND SECRETARY, EMBASSY 
OF SUDAN, MOGADISHU. 
 
ABDELRASOUL ARRIVED IN MOGADISHU, HIS FIRST OVERSEAS 
POSTING, IN SEPTEMBER 1990.  BEFORE THAT, HE HAD BEEN 
POSTED TO THE SUDANESE MFA FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS. 
EARLIER, HE HAD WORKED FOR THE SUDANESE MINISTRY OF 
EDUCATION. 
 
ABDELRASOUL GRADUATED FROM KHARTOUM UNIVERSITY WITH A 
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS.  HE BEGAN 
HIS MASTER'S PROGRAM, BUT DIDN'T FINISH IT, OWING TO 
"THE SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY." 
 
A MUSLIM FROM WESTERN SUDAN.  MARRIED, TWO SONS, ALL IN 
MOGADISHU.  SPEAKS POOR ENGLISH.  APPEARS TO BE IN MID- 
THIRTIES. 
 
ON VACATION, HAS TRAVELLED TO KENYA, SAUDI ARABIA, AND 
EGYPT. 
 
9.  MUSTAFA GHOLAM, FIRST SECRETARY, SAUDI ARABIAN 
EMBASSY, MOGADISHU (SINCE 1987). 
 
GHOLAM IS A NATIVE OF MECCA AND ATTENDED THE 
UNIVERSITY OF RIYADH, WHERE HE STUDIED HISTORY.  HE HAS 
BEEN POSTED TO LONDON, CARACAS, THE SAUDI MFA (TWO 
YEARS), THEN MOGADISHU. 
 
GHOLAM IS MARRIED.  HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN ARE IN 
SAUDI ARABIA.  HE SEES THEM ABOUT THREE TIMES PER YEAR. 
 
GHOLAM SPEAKS FAIR ENGLISH AND SEEMS TO BE IN HIS MID- 
FORTIES. 
 
OTHER:  GHOLAM IS FRIENDLY AND INTERESTED IN SOMALI 
POLITICS.  HE DOESN'T SEEM TO LIKE SOMALIS VERY MUCH-- 
HE SAYS "THEY ALL LIE."  HE WAS WEARING A SAFARI SUIT, 
NOT TRADITIONAL ARAB DRESS, WHEN VISITED. 
 
10.  TSEGAYE BEKELE, COUNSELOR, ETHIOPIAN EMBASSY, 
MOGADISHU (SEE ALSO REFTEL).  BEKELE IS ONE OF TEN 
CHILDREN.  ALL HIS SIBLINGS NOW LIVE IN THE UNITED 
STATES. .ONE BROTHER IS A SURGEON IN CHICAGO, ONE 
SISTER LIVES IN ATLANTA, SEVERAL LIVE IN CALIFORNIA. 
HE ALSO HAS AUNTS AND UNCLES IN THE U.S.  HIS PARENTS 
LIVE IN ADDIS.  BEKELE HAS TRAVELLED TO THE U.S. TO 
VISIT BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 
 
BISHOP