By Asha Elmi - Editor-in-Chief
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DJIBOUTI, 6 November 2026 – Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh on Thursday appointed Aden Ali Mohamed as defence minister, filling a post left vacant since the death of the previous minister in July, according to the president’s official page and the state news agency ADI.
The appointment was made by presidential decree with immediate effect, ADI said.
The new minister previously served as director of international cooperation before being appointed Djibouti’s ambassador to Eritrea, the agency said. Diplomatic records show he was Djibouti’s chargé d’affaires in Asmara in 2022.
His predecessor, Hassan Omar Mohamed Bourhan, died on July 16 in France, where he had been receiving medical treatment. Bourhan had held the post since May 2019 and was reappointed in a cabinet reshuffle in May 2026.
Djibouti is one of Somalia’s closest security partners and contributes troops to the African Union mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). It also hosts military bases of countries including the United States, France, China and Japan.