Loyal to his suzerain, Emperor Haile Selassie I, Alimirah possessed only moderate governing authority as Sultan, but was highly influential as a landowner and as the senior spiritual and cultural leader of the Afar people.
Under his rule, significant progress was made towards modernising agriculture amongst the pastoral Afar; attracting foreign investment, organising access to credit, and promoting infrastructural development.
[2][3] After the overthrow of the Ethiopian monarchy by the Derg, Sultan Alimirah was targeted by the new socialist regime for his influence, status as a landowner, and support for the deposed emperor.
[3][4] Upon the Derg's overthrow in 1991 the Sultan returned to Ethiopia, where he initially supported the efforts of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front led by Meles Zenawi.
A member of the Aussa Mudaito Dynasty, and the youngest of three children, with two older sisters, Fatima and Medina, his father was Hanfare Aydahis and mother was Hawy Omar.
[8] His grandfather, Mahammad ibn Hanfere, was himself Sultan of Aussa from 1862 to 1902, who declared his loyalty to Emperor Menelik II and defeated an Egyptian force led by Werner Munzinger attempting to invade Ethiopia in 1875.
Yayyo Hamadu was entrusted with the transport of goods between the port of Assab and the capital Addis Ababa by camel caravans, making him wealthy and also facilitating a close friendship with Ras Tafari Makonnen, the future Haile Selassie I.
Upon Ethiopia's liberation in 1941, Yayyo and Alimirah captured nearly a thousand Italian soldiers and brought them to Addis Ababa to commemorate the Emperor's return.
[7][8] While the actions of Yayyo and Alimirah strengthened their friendship with Haile Selassie, it was against the wishes of Sultan Mohammed, who sought to follow by the terms of his agreement with the Italians and leave their troops alone.
Alimirah was made a Dejazmach, and Yayyo restored to his title of Fitawrari, and several thousand soldiers of the Kebur Zabagna (Imperial Guard) were placed under their control.
Sultan Mohammed was deposed, and, after being assured his family members would not be killed (as was typical in Afar power struggles), was sent to Addis Ababa, where he died of natural causes some time later.
[10] Much like the imperial government and Haile Selassie on a national scale, Sultan Alimirah worked to improve the agricultural situation in Aussa, which accounted for the livelihoods of the vast majority of the Afar people.
[3][7] In the 1960s, a joint venture between the British firm Mitchell Cotts and the Ethiopian government was created to produce cotton in the region, under the Sultan's supervision.
[3] By the time of the Sultan's flight in 1975, it was noted that there were 600 tractors, 80 bulldozers, and 30 Cessna planes in the Aussa awrajja, a large amount relative to the rest of the country.
He was impressed by the warm reception accorded, especially after giving a speech in Chicago praising the leadership of Haile Selassie and receiving a standing ovation.
Following the dissolution of Eritrea's federal government and its transformation into a centrally-administered province, Afar leaders met again in Assab in 1963 and supported the creation of an autonomous region.
[3] While intended to the help the region's development, the scheme would have displaced thousands of rural Afars from their ancestral land and separated them from the river on which they depended for their livelihood and very survival.
After strenuous objections from Sultan Alimirah on their behalf, the scheme was abandoned- although it is thought protecting his own large plantations also played a role.
"[8] When touring the United States in 1972, he delivered several speeches praising the emperor's leadership, and inquired after the well-being of the Ethiopians living in the cities he visited.
[7] He was recognised for his resistance to the Fascist occupiers and his attempts to look after the well-being of other Ethiopians such as Le'ul Ras Imru Haile Selassie who had been imprisoned by them.