The first Somali president and African leader to peacfully hand over power dies

The first Somali president, Aden Abdulle Osman (effectionately known in Somalia as Aden Cadde) has died in Kenya at the age of 99. He was the first African leader to peacefully hand over power:

Aden Abdulle Osman will be remembered not only as Somalia's first president; he was also the first African leader to hand over power to a democratically elected successor. Elected in 1960, when the former British and Italian Somali colonies united to form the Republic of Somalia, Osman lost the 1967 presidential election and, unlike so many African leaders before and since, accepted his defeat graciously and gave up power.

In Somalia, where there is today a serious crisis of leadership, Aden Adde was probably the only Somali politician admired and respected by all Somalis regardless of clan and region.