Michael Mariano

[6] Michael was born in Berbera, British Somaliland in 1914 into the Uduruxmiin sub-division of the Habr Je'lo Isaaq clan.

[10] In touch with many other anti colonial figure such as the renowned Sheikh Bashir (who once came to Mariano's home and demanded to know why he was assisting Somalis with their English-language learning in order to prepare for the yearly civil service exam),[11] Mariano's aptitude and great speaking ability brought him centre stage in the Haud dispute.

In March 1955, for instance, a delegation consisting of Michael Mariano, Abokor Haji Farah and Abdi Dahir went to Mogadisho to win the support and co-operation of the nationalist groups in Somalia.

During their tour of London, they formally met and discussed the issue with the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Alan Lennox-Boyd.

Sultan Abdillahi also added that the 1954 agreement was a 'great shock to the Somali people' since they had not been told about the negotiations, and since the British Government had been administering the area since 1941.

The issue was that the British government had clearly violated the treaties it signed with Somali clans when it unjustly handed over their territory to Ethiopia in the Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1897[15] Mariano was a strong campaigner for independence and he was a member of the British Somaliland Protectorate advisory committee which worked extensively to prepare Somaliland for independence from the United Kingdom.

[16] Alongside other active members of the protectorate such as Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal and Sultan Abdillahi Deria they oversaw independence on June 26, 1960.Republic Somaliland would unify with Italian trust territory Somalia on July 1, 1960, to form the Somali Republic.

Mariano won a seat in Erigavo part of Burao District and served as MP in the Somali Parliament.

That share, then, is to have it with your brother SomalisMariano and Abdullahi Issa also justified the Somali Republic's decision to sever diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom over its support for Kenya in the NFD dispute.

[23] President Barre requested his aid in writing documents justifying Somalia's territorial claims in the Ogaden War and Mariano's past expertise with the Somali Youth League was greatly beneficial.

[25] Suffering from blood cancer he retired from public service in 1986 before finally dying in 1987, Michael received a state funeral in Mogadishu.