[1] Mohamud was born in 1964 in El Afweyn, in the Sanaag region of Somaliland to a family of nomads, with his father being a livestock trader.

He later joined the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, a rebel group with the goal of overthrowing Siad Barre's regime shortly after.

With the help of his mediation, a peace agreement that prevented Puntland from an all out civil war and guaranteed its stability for the coming years was finally signed in May 2003.

[3] On 17 November 2011, he was arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), visiting his wife who resides there while returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca.

[5] Mohamud was subsequently sentenced to one year in prison for defamation, according to local law based on the colonial period British Somaliland penal code.