Jaalle Mohamed Siad Barre ( ; ; October 6 , 1919 – January 2 , 1995 ) was a Somali politician who served as the President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991 . Barre , a major general of the gendarmerie , became President of Somalia after the 1969 coup d'état that overthrew the Somali Republic following the assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke . The Supreme Revolutionary Council military junta under Barre reconstituted Somalia as a one-party Marxist – Leninist communist state , renaming the country the Somali Democratic Republic and adopting scientific socialism , with support from the Soviet Union . Barre 's early rule was characterised by widespread modernization , nationalization of banks and industry , promotion of cooperative farms , a new writing system for the Somali language , and anti-tribalism . The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party became Somalia 's vanguard party in 1976 , and Barre started the Ogaden War against Ethiopia on a platform of Somali nationalism and pan-Somalism . Barre 's popularity was highest during the seven months between September 1977 and March 1978 when Barre captured virtually the entirety of the Somali region . It declined from the late-1970s following Somalia 's defeat in the Ogaden War , triggering the Somali Rebellion and severing ties with the Soviet Union . Opposition grew in the 1980s due to his increasingly dictatorial rule , growth of tribal politics , abuses of the National Security Service including the Isaaq genocide , and the sharp decline of Somalia 's economy . In 1991 , Barre 's government collapsed as the Somali Rebellion successfully ejected him from power , leading to the Somali Civil War , and forcing him into exile where he died in Nigeria in 1995
Isaaq genocide
Isaaq genocide
Siad Barre