Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud conferred a PhD

The President was  conferred a PhD  in peace studies by  University for Peace , a branch of United Nations .

The President of Somalia graduated alongside  166 students who have been awarded postgraduate degrees by the Somali branch of the United Nations-mandated University for Peace.

He is now among the few educated presidents to achieve such a fete. Other leaders who have attained PhD are Kenya's William Ruto, Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, Moeketsi Majoro of Lesotho, and King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

The Somali leader thesis  focused on peace, governance and development. He said his dissertation, which he defended in August, was titled, ‘Examining the Challenges of Clan Politics in State-building: A case study of Somalia’.

He thanked the University for the opportunity and promised to establish a fund to support the education of a hundred Somali students  pursuing doctoral degrees at the university.

The graduation ceremony was the University for Peace’s second such event for students in its specialised Somalia programme. The first cohort of students took part in a graduation event in 2021.

Established in 1980 by the UN, the University for Peace’s focus areas include conflict prevention, human security, human rights, environmental security and post-conflict rehabilitation.

“Nothing can exist, and prosper without peace. Peace is the central pillar for humanity in terms of development, science, and technology,” he said during the graduation ceremony.

The ceremony was presided over by Lalla Ben Barka, a member of the University Council.

“The attainment of a master’s or doctorate from a prestigious global higher education institution such as the University of Peace is an event to be celebrated, especially within Somalia’s context as [the country] often faces obstacles such as conflict, terrorism, and numerous other challenges,” Barka said.