WAELE AFRICA Foundation Wishes to congratulate the government and people of Somalia on the occasion of her National Day and 59th independence. We wish your country and all its people happiness, continued success and prosperity.
British Somaliland became independent on June 26, 1960. The former Italian Somaliland became independent five days later. On July 1, 1960, the regions were united to form the Somali Republic. The boundaries were created by Britain and Italy.
Somalia has been continuously inhabited by various ethnic groups over the centuries and was once one of the major commercial centers of the world. Its sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh, and spices, which were considered as precious in those days. Somalia’s sailors and traders came in to contact with Islam on the other bank of the Red Sea, and the religion slowly spread. The city of Mogadishu eventually came to be known as the city of Islam, and it controlled much of the gold trade of East Africa for several centuries.
During World War II, Somalia assisted the Allied powers against the Axis powers. After the war finished, the British still had control of British and Italian Somaliland. In 1949, the United Nations approved a trusteeship of Italian Somaliland to Italy under close supervision. Somali youth leagues, Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS), and the Somali National League (SNL) were all agitating for independence within ten years.
Meanwhile, the British gave back the Haud, which was an important grazing area, to Ethiopia. This was a result of a treaty between the British and Ethiopian Emperor Menelik in return for his help to tame ravaging Somali clans. People expected autonomy, but Ethiopia claimed authority. In 1956, British bid back to buy Somalia but failed. A plebiscite was conducted in the disturbed region whether to join the newly formed Somali Republic. Though most of the people wanted to, the British ceded it to Kenyan nationalists.
British Somaliland became independent on June 26, 1960. The former Italian Somaliland became independent five days later. On July 1, 1960, the regions were united to form the Somali Republic. The boundaries were created by Britain and Italy. Abdullahi Issa formed a government with Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister.
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