
Abdiweli Gaas (2 July 1967-) was Prime Minister of Somalia from 19 June 2011 to 17 October 2012 (succeeding Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and preceding Abdi Farah Shirdon) and President of Puntland from 8 January 2014 to 8 January 2019 (succeeding Abdirahman Mohamud Farole and preceding Said Deni).
Biography[]
Abdiweli Gaas was born in Dhusamareb, Somalia in 1967, and he was educated in Somalia and in the United States, acquiring dual citizenship and becoming fluent in Somali, Arabic, Italian, and English. He worked in various academic positions in America before participating in Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and going on to serve as Prime Minister from 2011 to 2012. Gaas devised a roadmap for the end of the transitional process, and, after leaving office in 2012, he served as President of Puntland from 2014 to 2019. He strengthened Puntland's cooperation with the European Union, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia, launched new infrastructure development campaigns, and recaptured Galgala from al-Shabaab in 2014.