{{Infobox person | name = Ismail Ali Ismail Geeldoon <br> إسماعيل علي إسماعيل | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = British Somaliland | occupation = writer, diplomat | nationality = | children = | title = | alma_mater = }}
'''Ismail Ali Ismail "Geeldoon"''' ({{langx|so|Ismaaciil Cali Ismaaciil}}, {{langx|ar|إسماعيل علي إسماعيل}}) is a Somali writer and former diplomat.
==Personal life== Ismail was born in Somaliland,<ref name="Gtsahos">{{cite web|title=Governance: The Scourge and Hope of Somalia|url=http://bookstore.trafford.com/Products/SKU-000167774/Governance.aspx|publisher=Trafford Publishing|access-date=1 September 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025443/http://bookstore.trafford.com/Products/SKU-000167774/Governance.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> in the former north-western British Somaliland protectorate.<ref name="Wiwiaig">{{cite news|title=WardheerNews' interview with Ismail A. Ismail 'Geeldoon', the author of, Governance: The Scourge and Hope of Somalia|url=http://wardheernews.com/Wareysiyo/Nov_28_WDN_interview_Geeldoon.html|access-date=1 September 2014|website=WardheerNews|date=1 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222072836/http://wardheernews.com/Wareysiyo/Nov_28_WDN_interview_Geeldoon.html|archive-date=22 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
For his secondary education, he attended Aden College in Aden, Yemen, passing his GCE levels in 1960. Ismail first gained an interest in governance and public administration during this early period. His initial exposure to the subject was through a book by Ismail al-Azhari, Sudan's then and first Prime Minister. Ismail later studied political science at university, reading Austin Ranney's ''The Governing of Men'' for a freshman class. He graduated with a diploma in Government and Public Administration, and subsequently earned a master's degree in Local Government and Administration.<ref name="Wiwiaig"/>
Ismail speaks several languages, notably Somali, Arabic and English.<ref name="Easmoasc">{{cite news|last1=Ismail|first1=Ismail Ali|title=Ethiopia and Somalia: Missed Opportunities and Some Challenges|url=http://wardheernews.com/articles/July/7_Somalia%20&%20Ethiopia_Geeldoon.htm|access-date=1 September 2014|website=WardheerNews|date=6 July 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717051755/http://wardheernews.com/articles/July/7_Somalia%20%26%20Ethiopia_Geeldoon.htm|archive-date=17 July 2012}}</ref>
==Career== Ismail was previously a civil servant in the government of Somalia.<ref name="Wiwiaig"/> He also served as a longtime United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) officer centered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.<ref name="Mltsc">{{cite book|last1=Hoque|first1=Azm Fazlul|title=My Life Through Six Continents|date=2011|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1456884154|page=281|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnDGRXPrv20C|access-date=1 September 2014}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}}
In 1995, along with Said Sheikh Samatar, Ismail took part in an international symposium in Asmara, Eritrea for the writing of the Constitution of Eritrea. He worked closely on the legislation with Eritrean and international experts. The following year, he also helped train senior government officials in the Eritrean capital.<ref name="Easmoasc"/>
In 2009, Ismail was a guest speaker at the Puntland Diaspora Conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He addressed the Virtues of Federalism panel on the advantages and disadvantages of a federal political system.<ref name="Tpdfc">{{cite web|title=2009 PDF Conference|url=http://wardheernews.com/Organizations/PDF/Puntland%20Diaspora%20Conference-Panel%20Discussions.pdf|publisher=WardheerNews|access-date=1 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006102259/http://wardheernews.com/Organizations/PDF/Puntland%20Diaspora%20Conference-Panel%20Discussions.pdf|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2010, Ismail published ''Governance: The Scourge and Hope of Somalia'', a work on good governance principles based on his extensive diplomatic experience.<ref name="Wiwiaig"/> He recommends therein incorporating elements of the traditional Somali customary law (''Xeer'') into modern government structures.<ref name="Gtsahos"/>
Besides writing and consultancy, Ismail is also a regular contributor to WardheerNews.<ref name="Iiteol">{{cite news|last1=Ismail|first1=Ismail Ali|title=Ignorance is the Enemy of Love|url=http://wardheer.startlogic.com/Book%20Review/10_Ignorance_enemy_Ismail.html|access-date=1 September 2014|agency=WardheerNews|date=10 March 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140902174911/http://wardheer.startlogic.com/Book%20Review/10_Ignorance_enemy_Ismail.html|archive-date=2 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Selected works== ;Books *''Governance: The Scourge and Hope of Somalia'' (2010)
;Articles *''The rural development campaign: its implications for the development of local government'' (1973) *''Federal structure for Somalia: an upas tree of a panacea?'' (2000) *''The Somali federation: crossing the initial hurdles'' (2014)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://geeldoonia.blogspot.com Geeldoonia Essays - Ismail Ali Ismail]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Ismail Ali}} Category:Living people Category:Ethnic Somali people Category:Somalian diplomats Category:Somalian writers Category:Year of birth missing (living people)