The Somali Youth League (SYL) was the first political party in Somalia. It played a key role in Somalia's road to independence during the 1950's and 1960's.
Contents |
During the Second World War, Britain occupied Italian Somaliland and administered the territory from 1941 to 1950. It was during this period (1943) that the Somali Youth League (SYL) was formed. The SYL succeeded in uniting all Somali clans under its flag and led the country to independence. Faced with growing Italian political pressure inimical to continued British tenure and to Somali aspirations for independence, the Somalis and the British came to see each other as allies. The situation prompted British colonial officials to encourage the Somalis to organize politically; the result was the first modern Somali political party, the Somali Youth Club (SYC), established in Mogadishu in 1943.
To empower the new party, the British allowed the better educated police and civil servants to join it. In 1947, it renamed itself the Somali Youth League (SYL) and began to open offices not only in the two British-run Somalilands but also in the Ogaden and in the Northern Frontier District (NFD). The SYL's stated objectives were to unify all Somali territories, including the NFD and the Ogaden; to create opportunities for universal modern education; to develop the Somali language by a standard national orthography; to safeguard Somali interests; and to oppose the restoration of Italian rule. SYL policy banned clannishness so that the thirteen founding members, although representing four of Somalia's five major clans, refused to disclose their clan affiliations. Although the SYL enjoyed considerable popular support from northerners, the principal parties in British Somaliland were the Somali National League (SNL), mainly associated with the Isaaq clan-family, and the United Somali Party (USP), which had the support of the Dir (Gadabuursi and Issa) and Darod (Dulbahante and Warsangali) clan-families.
In 1945, the Potsdam conference was held, where it was decided not to return Italian Somaliland to Italy.[1] The United Nations opted instead in November 1949 to grant Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland, but only under close supervision and on the condition -- first proposed by the SYL and other nascent Somali political organizations, such as Marehan Union Party, Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) (which later became Hizbia Dastur Mustaqbal Somali and the SNL, that were then agitating for independence -- that Somalia achieve independence within ten years.[2][3]
British Somaliland remained a protectorate of Britain until June 26, 1960, when it became independent. The former Italian Somaliland followed suit five days later.[4] On July 1, 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic, albeit within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain.[5][6][7] A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa with Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President,[8][9][10] and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister, later to become President (from 1967-1969). On July 20, 1961 and through a popular referendum, the Somali people ratified a new constitution, which was first drafted in 1960.[11]
In the first national elections after independence, held on 30 March 1964, the SYL won an absolute majority of 69 of the 123 parliamentary seats. The remaining seats were divided among 11 parties. Five years from then, in general elections held in March 1969, the ruling SYL, led by Mohammed Ibrahim Egal, was returned to power, but in the same year a military coup took place, putting Siad Barre in power and in October 1969, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) prohibited all political parties.
Presidents
Prime Ministers
SYL leaders
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
All material adapted used from Wikipedia is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
Seeking health information online: does Wikipedia matter?