By Princewill Ubani · Published
Research ID: PA-ART-abdulqawi-yusuf-icj-president-2018
Abdulqawi Yusuf Becomes the World Court's First Somali President
Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia was elected President of the International Court of Justice on February 6, 2018, chosen by the 15-member bench to lead the United Nations’ top judicial body for a three-year term. Judge Xue Hanqin of China was elected vice-president the same day.
Yusuf had joined the court in 2009 and served as its vice-president from 2015, giving him nine years on the bench before colleagues elevated him to its top post. Born in Eyl, in what is now Somalia’s Puntland region, he trained in law at the Somali National University before earning a doctorate in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. His career before the court spanned decades at the United Nations, including senior legal posts at the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the UN Industrial Development Organization and UNESCO, where he served as legal adviser and director of international standards and legal affairs from 2001 to 2009.
His election made him only the third African to preside over the ICJ, following Nigeria’s Taslim Olawale Elias, who held the post from 1982 to 1985, and Algeria’s Mohammed Bedjaoui, from 1994 to 1997. It also made him the first Somali to lead the court since it was established in 1945; before his own election to the bench in 2009, Somalia had never had a judge on the ICJ at all. The milestone came while Somalia was still rebuilding state institutions after decades of civil conflict.
Yusuf served as president until February 2021. His tenure included the maritime boundary dispute between Somalia and Kenya, a case he had already sat on since it was filed in 2014; Kenya later asked him to step aside, arguing his nationality created a conflict of interest, and when the court declined, Kenya withdrew its legal team before the case was decided in October 2021. Yusuf remained a sitting judge on the court after his presidency ended, before resigning his seat in 2025.
Sources
- “Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf (Somalia) elected President of the International Court of Justice”, International Court of Justice.
- “Somali judge is elected President of International Court of Justice”, Africanews.
- “World Court Elects Its First Somali President”, VOA News.