Ambassador Mohamed Siad Doualeh's Biography

Ambassador Mohamed Siad Doualeh

Ambassador Doualeh with U.S. President Barack Obama in the White House

Ambassador Doualeh and his family with U.S. President Barack Obama in the White House

His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Siad Doualeh is the Permanent Representative of Djibouti to the United Nations and the Ambassador of Djibouti to the United States.

Before the assumption of his duties as Ambassador of Djibouti to the United Nations, WTO and Switzerland, he has served as Special Envoy to the IGAD-led Process for Somalia as a member of the IGAD Facilitation Committee.

In that position, he was a key member of the Djibouti ministerial delegation to the special session of the Security Council on Sudan and Somalia held in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Djibouti delegation presented a strong case for the international community in general and the Security Council in particular to remain engaged in Somalia in view of the extraordinary security challenges posed by the free circulation of weapons, the large number of uncontrolled militia and technical.

Pursuing the same objective, the ambassador has also been instrumental in the preparation of the Somali case when he accompanied the newly elected Somali president to the Peace and Security Council at its 18th session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2004. He has also briefly served (April-October 2001) as Special Envoy to the IGAD-led Sudan Peace Process. In October 2001, he was appointed as Secretary to the National Committee on Terrorism formed on the basis of Security Council resolution 1373.

In April 2002, he was designated as a member of the IGAD Technical Committee established by the IGAD Council of Ministers in Somalia to do the necessary preparation for the National Conference for Peace in Somalia. Its mandate included the delicate task of determining criteria for participation, defining a draft agenda of the discussion to be tabled before Somalis and a time frame.

From January to August 2002, he served as a member of the technical secretariat that assisted the National Committee chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs which planned and organized the national reconciliation conference for peace in Somalia in Arta, Djibouti.

In January 2008, the ambassador was appointed as head of a special diplomatic mission, as agent of the Republic of Djibouti to the International Court of Justice.

Positions held during his tenure (2006-2015) in Geneva:

  • Vice President of the Human Rights Council nominated by the African Group
  • Vice President of the Trade and Development board in his 54th session
  • Chairman of the Francophone Group of Ambassadors (2009)
  • Chairman-Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental Working Group of the Effective Implementation of the DPPA (2009-2015)
  • Chairman of CDIP (Committee for Development and Intellectual Property), 2012-2014
  • Chairman of the Consultative Group for the election of mandate holders (7th Cycle, Human Rights Council), 2013

In his capacity as Ambassador and Chairman of various committees, the ambassador has made several presentations at the invitation of academic and diplomatic institutions on conflict resolution, human rights, maritime security, piracy, etc.

The Ambassador holds a Masters in British and American Literature and Civilization and has received a training in philosophy. He made a comparative analysis of the works of Friedrich Nietzche and Thomas Carlyle, Nietzche vs Carlyle: setting the record straight on the judgement of the philosophy towards the Scottish “prophet”.

Ambassador Doualeh has received the “Médaille de l’Order National du 27 juin” for his outstanding efforts in the National Reconciliation Somali Conference in August 2000. He recently has been awarded of a medal of “Commandeur de l’Order National du 27 juin 1977” in April 2013.

The ambassador possesses a very good knowledge of two UN working languages (French and English) and has an acceptable command of written Spanish and Arabic.

Ambassador Doualeh was born on December 27, 1968 and is married with 4 children.