Dahir Riyale Kahin

Dahir Riyale Kahin (Somali: Daahir Riyaale Kaahin, Arabic: ظاهر ريالي كاهن; born 12 March 1952) is a Somaliland politician who was the President of Somaliland from 2002 to 2010. He previously served as the Vice President of Somaliland from 1997 to 2002.

== Personal life ==

Kahin was born in the town of Quljeed, situated in the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland. He hails from the Jibreel Younis sub-clan of the Gadabuursi clan. He was educated in Amoud, and was later trained in Mogadishu.

== Career ==

=== Early career ===

Kahin's previous posts included a diplomatic position at the Somali Embassy in Djibouti.

In the last years of the Siad Barre government, during the 1980s, Kahin was the highest-ranking National Security Service (NSS) officer in Berbera. He was stationed in Las Anod in 1981 to 1982.

In the early 1990s, Kahin served as Governor of Awdal.

From 1997 to 2002, Kahin served as the Vice President of Somaliland.

=== President of Somaliland ===

On 3 May 2002, Kahin became the third President of Somaliland, after the death of the self-declared republic's President Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal. Kahin later won the elections on 14 April 2003, representing the Ururka Dimuqraadiga...