Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday appointed Mohamed Mohamud Mohamed (PhD) as rector of Somali National University, replacing Prof. Osman Mohamed Mohamud, who had led the institution since 2019.

The presidency said Mohamed’s academic background and leadership experience were central to his appointment. A career educator with years of university teaching and administration, Mohamed holds a doctorate in education and is expected to guide the university through its next phase of recovery.

The appointment came a day after the president launched the 2025–2026 school year during a ceremony releasing national exam results. According to the Ministry of Education, 37,052 students sat for Grade 12 exams this year, with nearly 94 percent passing. The ministry also completed a training program for 3,000 teachers, part of a push to modernize instruction and unify curricula nationwide.

Somali National University, founded in 1954, was once regarded as one of East Africa’s leading academic centers before the outbreak of civil war in 1991 forced its closure. It reopened in 2014 after more than two decades of inactivity and has since expanded to more than a dozen faculties, offering degrees in medicine, engineering, agriculture, economics, and law. With more than 10,000 students now enrolled, it stands as Somalia’s largest and most prominent public university, playing a central role in educating the country’s future professionals.