 He officially became President of Somaliland on December 13, 2017.During the 1970s, he served as a pilot in the Somali Air Force under the Siad Barre administration.In 1985, he defected from the Somali Army and joined the rebel Somali National Movement (SNM) that eventually helped to successfully oust the Somali dictator’s regime after a long armed struggle in 1991.