NU Economics Professor Appointed Prime Minister of Somalia
June 25, 2011
When Dr. Abdiweli Ali, an Associate Professor of Economics, was appointed to be Somalia's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation last fall, he took a sabbatical from NU for the spring 2011 semester. It is now comfirmed that Dr. Ali's stay in the African nation will extend into a yearlong leave of absence as he was named Somalia's Prime Minister on June 23, 2011, following the removal of Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
"We wish Dr. Ali the best of luck in his new position," said Dr. Mark Wilson, Dean of Niagara University's College of Business Administration. "Dr. Ali still plans to remain affiliated with Niagara University, which really speaks to his affinity for the school."
Somalian President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has charged Dr. Ali, a Somali-American, with governing a country wrecked by war that has been virtually lawless for 20 years. Adding to that challenge is the fact that the mandates of Somalia's transitional institutions expire in 14 months, at which time a new administration will be elected.
"He has the personality and the kind of knowledge that makes him fit to become the prime minister," Ahmed told the Associated Press in announcing Dr. Ali's appointment. "I'm quite confident that he will be up to the challenge of the hard conditions our country is encountering."
Dr. Ali holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, a Certificate of Taxation from Harvard Law School, and a Master of Economics from Vanderbilt University. He completed his Ph.D. in Economics at George Mason University and, in 1998 and 1999, was a Joel Leff Fellow of Political Economy at Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. Before coming to Niagara, Dr. Ali was a Research and Forecast Manager for the Commonwealth of Virginia.