MOGADISHU MONTHLY BIOGRAPHIC WRAP-UP

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