Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party
소말리아 혁명사회당
The ruling and only legal party of the Somali Democratic Republic, created in 1976 by Mohamed Siad Barre's military regime under Soviet guidance. It professed Marxism–Leninism while also embracing Islamic teachings and Somali nationalism, and had at most about 20,000 members. It ceased to exist when the Siad Barre regime fell in January 1991.
In depth
After the coup of 21 October 1969 all Somali parties were banned, and the military led by Siad Barre proclaimed a course of building socialism. According to the Russian source, Siad Barre announced in 1971 his intention to form a ruling party, and on 27 June 1976 a founding congress of 3,000 delegates opened in Mogadishu. On 1 July the congress proclaimed the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party, adopted its statutes and programme, dissolved the Supreme Revolutionary Council and named Siad Barre president. According to the English source the congress elected Siad Barre general secretary and formed a five-member politburo of Barre, Vice President Mohammad Ali Samatar, Second Vice President Hussein Kulmiye Afrah, Ahmad Sulaymaan Abdullah and Ismail Ali Abukor.
The Arabic source describes the party as Marxist–Leninist in orientation while embracing Islamic teachings and Somali nationalism, with a peak membership of about 20,000. The English source says the party was meant to transcend clan lines but power was concentrated in three clans, and that it had its own intelligence branch, Baadhista xisbiga, working in parallel with state intelligence. Before the war with Ethiopia in 1977 the party built ties with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, but after relations with the Eastern Bloc were broken splinter groups broke away.
After the attempted coup of 9 April 1978, an extraordinary congress in January 1979 approved a draft constitution, and the 1979 constitution established the one-party system and the leading role of the party. With the state of emergency of October 1980, however, the Supreme Revolutionary Council was restored and the party's role declined; in 1981 it joined the Socialist Inter-African. The third congress in November 1986 re-elected Siad Barre general secretary.
In December 1989 an extraordinary plenum of the Central Committee resolved to restore a multi-party system, but this could not halt the civil war. The party ceased to exist when the Siad Barre regime fell on 27 January 1991.