Asha Ahmed Abdalla

Asha Ahmed Abdalla (Somali: Casha Axmed Cabdalla, Arabic: عائشة أحمد عبد الله‎) is a Somali politician. She was a founding member of the Transitional Federal Parliament, and is a veteran legislator representing the northern Sanaag constituency.

Biography

Abdalla was born in 1958 in the town of Erigavo, situated in the northern Sanaag region of Somalia. She spent her early childhood in Yemen, and returned to Somalia in the late 1960s.

Abdalla later moved to the United States to pursue higher studies, graduating from La Guardia College in New York. She holds dual Somali and American citizenship.

Political career

In 2000, Abdalla attended the peace conference on Somalia held in Arta, Djibouti. Because of her pivotal role in the talks, she was elected a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Transitional National Government (TNG).

Abdalla was subsequently appointed to various ministerial positions in the TNG. The latter include Minister for Demobilisation, Disarmament, Reintegration and Disabled Care, and Deputy Minister of Labor and Sports.