Mohamed Mohamoud Handule

Mohamed Mohamoud Handule (12 December 1954 – 3 August 2016) was a Somali diplomat, philosopher and scholar. He served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Somalia to the Russian Federation from 2007 until his death in 2016. Educated at Moscow State University, he combined a diplomatic career with academic work in philosophy, international relations and African affairs.

Early life and education

Handule was born on 12 December 1954 in Burao, then part of the British Somaliland Protectorate.

He studied philosophy at Moscow State University. In a 2007 interview, he stated that he graduated from the university's Faculty of Philosophy in 1986 and defended his Candidate of Sciences dissertation in 1989.

Diplomatic career

From 2005, Handule headed Somalia's diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation. He presented his letters of credence to Russian President Vladimir Putin on 27 July 2007 and served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Somalia to the Russian Federation.

During his tenure in Moscow, Handule represented Somalia during a period of post-conflict reconstruction and worked to strengthen diplomatic relations between Somalia and the Russian Federation.