# Ahmed Samatar
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{{Short description|Somali writer and professor (born 1952)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Ahmed Ismail Samatar
| image =Professor_Samatar.png
| alt =
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| pseudonym =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1952}}
| birth_place = [Gabiley](/source/Gabiley), [British Somaliland](/source/British_Somaliland) (now [Somaliland](/source/Somaliland))
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Writer, professor, scholar
| citizenship = [Somaliland](/source/Somaliland)er, [American](/source/United_States)
| alma_mater = [University of Wisconsin–La Crosse](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93La_Crosse)
[University of Denver](/source/University_of_Denver)
| period =
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| notableworks =
| spouse = divorced
| partner =
| children =
| relatives = [Abdi Ismail Samatar](/source/Abdi_Ismail_Samatar)
| awards =
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| website =
|module={{infobox person
| child = yes
| political_party = [Hillaac](/source/Hillaac)
}}
}}
'''Ahmed Ismail Samatar''' ({{langx|so|Axmed Ismaaciil Samatar}}, {{langx|ar|أحمد إسماعيل سمتر}}) is a [Somali](/source/Somalis) writer, professor and former [dean](/source/Dean_(education)) of the ''Institute for Global Citizenship'' at [Macalester College](/source/Macalester_College).[{{cite web|author=Betsy Salvatore |url=http://www.macalester.edu/internationalstudies/samatar.html |title=Ahmed Samatar | International Studies | Macalester College |publisher=Macalester.edu |accessdate=2 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630060018/http://www.macalester.edu/internationalstudies/samatar.html |archivedate=30 June 2012 }}] He is the editor of ''Bildhaan: An International Journal of [Somali Studies](/source/Somali_Studies)'', and brother of [Abdi Ismail Samatar](/source/Abdi_Ismail_Samatar), chair of the [geography](/source/geography) department at the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota). Samatar joined the [Peace, Unity, and Development Party](/source/Peace%2C_Unity%2C_and_Development_Party), the ruling party of the self-declared Republic of [Somaliland](/source/Somaliland) in June 2016. Samatar was widely touted as a possible candidate for Somaliland's 2022 presidential elections.[{{cite web |author=Horn Cable TV |url=http://www.hctv.tv/?p=34530 |title=Professor Ahmed Ismail Samatar officially joins Kulmiye party |publisher=Horn Cable TV |accessdate=4 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615025717/http://www.hctv.tv/?p=34530 |archive-date=15 June 2016 |url-status=dead }}]
==Biography==
Ahmed Ismail Samatar was born and raised in the [Gabiley District](/source/Gabiley_District), situated in [Somaliland](/source/Somaliland). He is the brother of scholar and politician [Abdi Ismail Samatar](/source/Abdi_Ismail_Samatar).[{{Cite web|url = http://www.xariiradnews.com/2012/08/maxaa-ka-taqaanaa-xubnaha-lagu-sheegay-qaswadayaasha-siyaasadda-soomaaliya-iyo-qabiilada-ay-kasoo-jeedaan/|title = Maxaa ka Taqaanaa Xubnaha Lagu Sheegay Qaswadayaasha Siyaasadda Soomaaliya iyo Qabiilada ay kasoo jeedaan|date = 21 August 2012|accessdate = 16 April 2015|website = |agency = Xariiradnews|archive-date = 16 April 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150416220629/http://www.xariiradnews.com/2012/08/maxaa-ka-taqaanaa-xubnaha-lagu-sheegay-qaswadayaasha-siyaasadda-soomaaliya-iyo-qabiilada-ay-kasoo-jeedaan/|url-status = dead}}] His father Ismail Samatar Mohamed (Dheere) was a businessman and traditional elder, and his mother Haliimo Abdilaahi Kahin is the sister of the late coffee tycoon Mohamed Abdillahi Ogsadey.
Samatar began his early traditional [Islamic schooling](/source/Madrasa) (mal'amad qur'an) while he was young. His first [Qur'an](/source/Qur'an) teacher was Ma'alin Hassan Fahiye. In 1952, he was the first student enrolled in the first Gabiley Primary/intermediate school, where he finished his lower education. His middle and high schools were in Amoud Intermediate and Agricultural secondary school.
After finishing high school,[{{Cite web |url=http://gaafo.com/223816/invitation-to-a-public-talk-by-professor-ahmed-ismail-samatar-at-queen-mary-university-london/ |title=Gaafo.com - Invitation to a Public Talk by Professor Ahmed Ismail Samatar at Queen Mary University London |access-date=24 July 2013 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407065229/http://gaafo.com/223816/invitation-to-a-public-talk-by-professor-ahmed-ismail-samatar-at-queen-mary-university-london/ |url-status=dead }}] Samatar moved to [Mogadishu](/source/Mogadishu), the capital city of the [Somalia](/source/Somalia), where he was accepted as a radio broadcaster at [Radio Mogadishu](/source/Radio_Mogadishu) in the mid 60s. In the late 60s, Ahmed filled a vacancy at the BBC African service, although was still young. He served as a [BBC](/source/BBC) broadcaster till the mid 70s when he made up his mind to get a higher education. He later moved from London to the United States.
Samatar has lectured at many universities and colleges, including [Cornell](/source/Cornell), [Harvard](/source/Harvard), [Iowa](/source/Iowa), [London School of Economics and Political Science](/source/London_School_of_Economics_and_Political_Science), [Somali National University](/source/Somali_National_University), [Toronto University](/source/Toronto_University), [University of Amsterdam](/source/University_of_Amsterdam), [York University](/source/York_University), [University of Otago](/source/University_of_Otago), [University of Hargeisa](/source/University_of_Hargeisa) and [Wellesley College](/source/Wellesley_College). His expertise is in the areas of global political economy, political and social thought, and Somali affairs. He is the author/editor of five books and over thirty articles.
Additionally, Samatar is the founding editor-in-chief of ''Bildhaan'', one of the international journals of [Somali Studies](/source/Somali_Studies). He is also the editor of eighteen volumes of ''Macalester International'', a publication of undergraduate education and internationalism.[{{cite web |url=http://works.bepress.com/ahmed_samatar/ |title=Ahmed Samatar | Macalester College | Global Political Economy, African Politics | James Wallace Professor, International Studies, Dean, Institute for Global Citizenship |publisher=Works.bepress.com |accessdate=2 August 2012 |archive-date=11 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811012817/http://works.bepress.com/ahmed_samatar/ |url-status=dead }}]
A Fulbright Fellow, Samatar has been awarded grants by the [Ford Foundation](/source/Ford_Foundation), the [Mellon Foundation](/source/Mellon_Foundation), the [United States Institute of Peace](/source/United_States_Institute_of_Peace), the [Heinrich Böll Foundation](/source/Heinrich_B%C3%B6ll_Foundation) and the [St. Paul Foundation](/source/St._Paul_Foundation).
His current research is on two tracks: a collaborative two volumes on leadership and the Somali experience; and globalization and the rise of Islamic consciousness. Since 1994, Samatar has been teaching at [Macalester College](/source/Macalester_College), where he is the James Wallace Professor and retired Dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship.
In mid-2012, Samatar ran for political office as one of the potential candidates in Somalia's [2012 presidential elections](/source/Somali_presidential_election%2C_2012).[{{cite news|last=Mohamed|first=Mahmoud|title=Profiles of Somalia's top presidential candidates|url=http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/08/17/feature-02|accessdate=21 August 2012|newspaper=Sabahi|date=17 August 2012}}]
== Bibliography ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
|-
|1988
|Socialist Somalia: Rhetoric and Reality
|-
|1995
|Somalia: State Collapse, Multilateral Intervention, and Strategies for Political Reconstruction
|-
|1998
|Nature, People, and Globalization
|-
|2002
|The African state: reconsiderations
|-
|2003
|Prometheus's Bequest: Technology and Change
|}
==Educational-background==
* [B.A.](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) ''[magna cum laude](/source/magna_cum_laude)'', [University of Wisconsin–La Crosse](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93La_Crosse), 1978[{{cite web|author=Betsy Salvatore |url=http://www.macalester.edu/internationalstudies/faculty.html |title=International Studies Faculty |publisher=Macalester.edu |accessdate=2 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926111305/http://www.macalester.edu/internationalstudies/faculty.html |archivedate=26 September 2012 }}]
==See also==
* [Somali Studies](/source/Somali_Studies)
* [Macalester College](/source/Macalester_College)
==References==
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070826173206/http://www.somalistudies.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=15 SSIA – Abdisalam Aato Interviews Dr. Ahmed I. Samatar]
* [http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/bildhaan/ Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies | Institute for Global Citizenship | Macalester College]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samatar, Ahmed Ismail}}
Category:Somalian writers
Category:Somalian non-fiction writers
Category:1950 births
Category:Living people
Category:Somalian scholars
Category:Macalester College faculty
Category:University of Denver alumni
Category:American people of Somali descent
Category:People from Maroodi Jeex
Category:Gadabuursi
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ahmed Samatar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Samatar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Samatar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.