Draft:Mohamood Abdi Noor

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Early Life

Dr.Mohamood Abdi Noor was born in Berbera, Somalia in 1943. He originally hails from Ceerigaabo and Laasqoray which are a cities in the Sanaag region of Somalia. He comes from a family with a rich legacy in Seafaring, which allowed him to grow up in Berbera, Somalia, Aden, Yemen, and Ceerigaabo Somalia as a young child..

Education

At a young age, he moved to Aden, Yemen for Primary school. From 1951 to 1954 he studied at the Government Primary School of Aden. From 1954 to 1958 he completed middle school at the Government Intermediate school in Yemen. He completed high school in 1962 at the Aden College with a General Certificate of Education (GCE). In 1963, after receiving a scholarship to study in the U.S., he began his studies in Agriculture with a focus in Agronomy at the University of Arizona. After completing his B.Sc with Honoroll, he began his Masters at the University of Wyoming in 1966 in Agronomy. He then was successful in receiving his PhD in Plant Breeding in 1970 from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Early Career

Noor's very first job was as youngster distributing goat milk to the restaurants in Aden on behalf of his Aunt Asha Noor between 1952 and 1960. He then became a teacher at the Government Intermediate School in Aden between 1962 and 1963 after completing high school. After completing his undergraduate studies, he became a graduate research assistant in forage production and plant physiology at the University of Wyoming. Between 1967 and 1970 he became a graduate research assistant at the University of Massachusetts..

After completing his Phd, he became a Visiting Scientist at IITA in Ibadan Nigeria working on maize composite breeding program. He was able to return to his home country Somalia in 1971, where he secured a role as the Director and Research Agronomist at the Central Agricultural Research Stations (CARS) in Afgoi, Somalia.

Family Life

Dr. Noor is married to Faduma Said Mohamed, and has 10 children. He also has seven siblings, and four grandchildren

Contributions to Somalia

Dr. Noor held several positions within Somalia including President of the Somali National University, the Dean of the Department of Agriculture at SNU, the Vice Minister of Agriculture amongst many other roles. He held these positions from 1971 until 1991. During his tenure as the Vice Minister, and the President of the University, Somalia saw a rapid growth in agricultural production, at its peak exporting 600,000 tons of Bananas. After leaving the country following the civil war, he continued supporting the development of Somalia holding numerous positions at the World Bank, FAO, USAID and other international organizations as a Senior Agricultural Expert.

He has written and contributed to several publications leaving a rich literature and legacy for Somalis such as, "The Somalis: Their History and Culture",, "Somalia Bay Region Agricultural Research", and "The CGIAR at 31: An Independent Meta-Evaluation of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research" amongst many more.

He has also supported the development of higher education such as the establishment of the Somali National University, the Puntland Branch which was opened in 2012. He was awarded in 2014 a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Somali National University Main Campus for his lifelong contribution to Higher Education and Development in Somalia.

Personal Life

Dr. Noor's favorite pastime was reading the Holy Quran. He would complete the Holy Quran every 4-5 days to maintain a close relation to his religion. He was also a very active member in the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic center, where he spent most of his free time. He enjoyed supporting development projects both in the US, as well as Africa, namely his home country Somalia.