Dr. Saad Ali Shire was appointed in November 2018 to the position of Minister of Finance of the Republic of Somaliland where he is leading a comprehensive public finance reform program. Prior to the current post, he served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and International cooperation for three years from October 2015 to November 2018. During his tenure he developed a foreign policy strategy focusing on Africa, built the capacity of the ministry, engaged the Diaspora and reached out to the international community, organizing the first international conference on Somaliland in Hargeisa, the capital. He was also the chief negotiator with DPWorld in the complex Berbera Port concession. He also served as the Minister of National Planning and Development for five years from 2010 to 2015. During this period the Ministry developed the first 5 year National Development Plan, NDPI(2012-2017), the Somaliland Special Arrangement (SSA) for funding, and the High Level Aid coordination Forum (HLACF) with the donor community. The Minister promulgated the first NGO law and the first statistical law, and oversaw the first household survey by the World Bank and the first population Estimation survey by the UN, and played a key role in the establishment of Somaliland Development Fund (SDF). The Minister served on many committees during his tenure in government including the National Planning commission, Somaliland Development Fund Joint Steering Committee, Somaliland Business Fund Grant Advisory Panel, Civil Service Reform Committee, Public Finance Reform Committee, Budget Policy Committee, Private Sector Reform Committee, Land Policy Reform Committee, Berbera Port/Corridor Development Committee, the Board of the University of Hargeisa and the Board of Berbera Maritime and Fisheries Academy. Prior to joining the government, the Honorable Minister was the Managing Director of Dahabshiil Transfer Services Limited for UK and Europe operations. Before that he held positions in social enterprises, academic institutions and International organizations including the World Bank. Dr. Shire is an economist and an agronomist. He studied agriculture at both Havana University, Cuba, and Somali National University where he earned a bachelor degree. He then attended Pennsylvania State University, USA, where he got Master’s and PhD degrees in Agricultural Economics. He has also a post graduate diploma in Islamic Banking from London Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, and is an IMC member of the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Society of UK. The Minister is a founder member of many academic institutions and professional associations including: the University of Hargeisa, the University of Burao, Somaliland Society of Agriculture, Somaliland Economics Association, Somaliland Statistics Association, and Somaliland Society UK.