Admiral Mohamed Omar Osman (born 1940) is the chairman of the Ogaden National Liberation Front

Ogaden National Liberation Front

The Ogaden National Liberation Front , is a separatist rebel group fighting to make the region of Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia an independent state...

 (ONLF). He was born in Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, but attended secondary school in Mogadishu

Mogadishu

Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

. He later went to Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 where he graduated from the War College, and completed his military education in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

After returning to Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, he was appointed a member of the central committee of the ruling Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party

Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party

The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party was the governing political party in Somalia from 1976 to 1991.- History :XHKS was created by the military regime of Siad Barre under Soviet guidance. A founding congress was held in June 1976. The congress elected a Central Committee, with Barre as the...

 in the mid-1970s, then became chief of the party's Politbureau. Afterwards, he was appointed commander of the Somali Navy

Somali Navy

-Pre-Independence :During the pre-independence period, the Somali Navy was established in conjunction with the Italian Navy, the latter of which also helped maintain security in Somali waters.-Post-Independence :...

 and promoted to the rank of admiral. After the collapse of the central government in Somalia in 1991, he returned to the Somali Region

Somali Region

Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...

 in Ethiopia, where in 1998 he was chosen to be the leader of the ONLF at the Party Congress.

In the later years, Admiral Osman and his supporters had been in a power struggle against a group led by the ONLF head of Planning and Research Department, Dr. Mohamed Sirad Dalool, who was assassinated March 2009. This has reportedly led to a split in the ONLF, with one faction loyal to Admiral Osman, while another, led by Abdiwali Hussein Gas, holds Admiral Osman responsible for Dr. Dalool's death, which he has not
commit, in fact, it is to be said that Dr. Dalool and Admiral Osman were very close friends and that he relied heavily on Dr. Dalool for advice and that he was a key member who was important of the party.