Abdisalam Omer Hadliye (; ), also known as Abdisalan Hadliye Omar, is a Somali economist and politician. He was previously a Chief of Staff at the Executive Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia, a Director of the UNDP Somalia Financial Services and Governance Program, and a Chief Business Officer for the District of Columbia Public Schools. He also served as Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia in 2013. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia from 27 February 2015 to 29 March 2017.
Personal life
Omer's family hails from the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland. He hails from the Gadabuursi clan.
At the age of 16, Omer moved to the United States. For his post-secondary education, he studied at Boston College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics in 1977. Four years later, he completed a Master of Arts in Public Administration at the Oklahoma State University. Omer subsequently taught American politics, public and personnel administration, budgeting and program evaluation to undergraduates at the University of Tennessee. Concurrently, he earned a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the institution in 1986.
Omer holds dual Somali and American citizenship.
Career
Early career
In 1987, Omer served as a research associate with ACRC Systems based in New York City. He then relocated to Washington, D.C., in 1989, where he was an international student advisor on immigration and naturalization issues at Southeastern University. Omer subsequently joined the Prince William County capital improvement projects, where he worked over three years as a management and budget analyst. He was likewise a consultant in international finance to the World Bank's Africa Region for a short period.
District of Columbia
In 1992, Omer began serving as a senior budget analyst for public safety and education at the Washington, D.C. Budget Office. He later was a team leader for public education at the CFO's office, and then as the chief financial officer for the District of Columbia Public Schools after August 1996.
In May 1997, Omer was appointed deputy chief financial officer of the Washington, D.C. government. His duties therein included managing a yearly budget of $2 billion in addition to a $6 billion operating budget. He also formulated developed comprehensive policy and budget analysis, advanced format and process reforms, and achieved balanced budgets for three straight years.
In April 1999, Omer was named chief of staff at the municipality. He oversaw 75 senior personnel at the Executive Office of the Mayor, supervising a staff of more than 28,000. He also provided guidance and support to the agency directors and deputy mayors, maintained political relations with Congress and the Council, fielded concerns of local constituents, liaised with the national media, and developed performance benchmarks, strategic planning, and other aspects of the overall policy agenda of the District of Columbia.
World Bank and UNDP
From 2001 to 2002, Omer served as an expert consultant in municipal finances in the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific region cluster. He therein trained the municipal authorities in Shanghai on bond issues.
Between 2002 and 2006, Omer began serving as the head of the United Nations Development Program's Governance and Financial Services Program (GFS) in Somalia's autonomous northern Puntland and Somaliland regions. The program entailed training in tax collection, government budget and financial management, and allocating land management and establishing urban planning and design units vis-a-vis select cities in conjunction with UNHABITAT. Additionally, Omer founded the UNDP's first program in support of money transfer businesses. The initiative aimed at buttressing growth of the local private sector. He also provided economic consultancy for the Somalian government, and trained more than 100 financial analysts through the UN/World Bank's LICUS program. Omer likewise spearheaded the establishment of a new public administration institute. He concurrently helped establish the training programs of the Mogadishu-based SIMAD University.
DCPS chief business officer
In February 2007, Omer was appointed the chief business officer for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). He in this capacity facilitated strategic planning and oversaw a support service network, the latter of which included facilities management, information systems, procurement, security, food service and real property management.
With three decades of experience in the economic field, Omer specializes in financial and strategic planning, economic governance, and public sector reform.