Prof. Mohamed Said Gees, educator and statesman, buried in Virginia

Hargeisa (HOL) — Mohamed Said Gees, a prominent Somali academic, author, and former Somaliland minister, was buried Saturday in Virginia following his death on August 23 at the age of 77.

Widely respected for his contributions to Somali education, language policy, and post-war reconciliation, Gees served as Somaliland’s minister of planning, finance, and foreign affairs. He played a key role in organizing over 30 peace conferences in Somaliland following the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991.

His passing marks the end of a decades-long public career that bridged classrooms, cabinet meetings, and community reconciliation halls.

Gees famously entered national politics in February 1990 under unusual circumstances. While purchasing cattle in the village of Biyo-Ado in Middle Shabelle, he heard over Radio Mogadishu that he had been appointed Minister of Fisheries.

“I was sitting there with 30 bulls I’d just bought, preparing to ship them from Las Qoray,” he later recalled. “The USC fighters were in the area. I looked around and thought—no one here knows me. So I accepted the appointment.”

Although his tenure was brief due to the collapse of the central government later that year, it marked the start of his political career. He fled Mogadishu shortly afterward, passing through Kenya and Ethiopia before relocating to Yemen.

With the emergence of Somaliland’s self-declared administration, Gees joined President Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal’s cabinet in the late 1990s. He served as Planning Minister (1997–1999), Finance Minister (1999–2001), and later as Foreign Minister.

During this period, he became a key figure in Somaliland’s nation-building efforts, particularly in facilitating local reconciliation.

Born on November 11, 1946, in Erigavo, Gees moved to Hargeisa as a toddler, where his father worked as a doctor. He studied at Sheikh Secondary School and later enrolled at Lafoole College, earning a degree in physics in 1973. He went on to receive a master’s degree in the United Kingdom.

Returning home, Gees taught at Lafoole and later worked at the Ministry of Education’s curriculum center during the formative years of Somali language standardization. He helped translate science and mathematics textbooks into Somali.

“He was always kind and generous to students,” recalled Ahmed Said Igeh, a veteran journalist who studied at Lafoole. “He used to walk around campus and chat with students. He left a lasting impression.”

In his later years, Gees turned to writing and political commentary. He authored several books, including Dharaar Xusuus Leh (“A Day to Remember”), chronicling his personal and political journey. By 2014, he had assumed the role of elder statesman, advocating for good governance through his writing.