Mohamed Siad Barre was a Somali Communist politician who served as the President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. Opposition grew in the 1980s due to his increasingly dictatorial rule, growth of tribal politics, abuses of the National Security Service including the Isaaq genocide, and the sharp decline of Somalia's economy. In 1991, Barre's government collapsed as the Somali Rebellion successfully ejected him from power, leading to the Somali Civil War, and forcing him into exile where he died in Nigeria in 1995.
Kenya's renowned photojournalist Mohamed Amin, also known as 'Six Camera Mo' captured some of Africa's defining moments and photographed almost every African leader in the 20th century.