Editing Aden Adde (section)

===Presidency===
By the time Somalia gained its independence in 1960, Daar had attained widespread prominence as a nationalist figure. In short order, he was elected the country's first President, a position he would assume from 1960 to 1967. During his tenure, he proactively pursued an irredentist national policy for the restoration of lost Somali territories. Notable incidents include the [[1964 Ethiopian–Somali Border War]], the [[Shifta War]] of Kenya, the [[Front de Libération de la Côte des Somalis]] battle for Djiboutian Independence as well as support for the ELF in Eritrea and the [[Bale Revolt]] of the Oromo in Ethiopia. His rivals in Kenya and Ethiopia had subsequently signed a defence pact in 1965 in order to curb what they deemed as expansion on their doorstep. In line with these policies, President Aden also enrolled Somalia into a number of organisations to advocate for the freedom and liberties of all colonised nations such as the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], the Organisation of African Unity and the [[World Muslim Congress]] in which Somalia hosted the Congress' 6th conference in 1966. Notable countries which Somalia in his time advocated for and supported with men or material include South Africa and Palestine during the Six Day War.<ref>{{cite book|last=Abdulle|first=Aden|title=Address delivered by his excellency Adam Abdullah Osman to the Conference of African Heads of States and Governments|date=1963|publisher=United Nations Economic Commission for Africa|page=97|url=https://repository.uneca.org/bitstream/handle/10855/47532/b10802010.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref>

Known as the Switzerland of Africa for its free market and democracy, Somalia under President Aden pursued modest economic planning to improve domestic revenue. His publicised First Five Year Plan (1963-1967) demonstrated its simple development strategy concentrated on a handful of projects: an increased output of sugar through expanding the productive capacity of the existing factory at Jowhar; the development of meat packing, fish processing, milk and dairy products, textiles, and a few other industries; the construction or improvement of a number of roads; building three seaports at Kismayo, Berbera, and Mogadiscio; the expansion of irrigation for crops and fodder; the formation of a number of state farms; certain improvements in social services, including education and health. Sectoral allocations of planned investment outlays reflected a greater priority for physical infrastructure than agricultural development or population settlement. Though the Plan was essentially a public expenditure programme, it also gave considerable encouragement to private enterprise, offering incentives in the form of protection, exemption from certain taxes for a limited period and the grant of loans on favourable terms to those firms prepared to invest in industries which have a reasonable scope for becoming profitable and the establishment of which is desirable in the national interest.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ismail Samatar|first=Abdi|title=The State and Rural Transformation in Northern Somalia, 1884-1986|date=1989|publisher=University of Wisconsin|page=97|isbn=9780299119942 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aAojTjUUrI0C&pg=PA97}}</ref>
 
In the 1967 presidential election, Aden was defeated by [[Abdirashid Ali Shermarke]], his former Prime Minister. His term as president ended on July 6, 1967. Aden accepted the loss graciously, making history as the first head of state in Africa (excluding Liberia) to peacefully hand over power to a democratically elected successor.<ref name="Fposd">{{cite news|title=First president of Somalia dies|url=http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6735769.stm|access-date=30 October 2014|agency=BBC|date=8 June 2007|archive-date=26 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626120832/http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6735769.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Shermarke was assassinated two years later by one of his own bodyguards. The slaying led to an unopposed, bloodless [[1969 Somali coup d'état|coup d'état]] by the [[Army of Somalia|Somali Army]] on 21 October 1969, the day after Shermarke's funeral. Spearheading the putsch was [[Major General]] [[Siad Barre|Muhammad Siad Barre]], who at the time commanded the army.<ref name="Myswenvwp">Moshe Y. Sachs, ''Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations'', Volume 2, (Worldmark Press: 1988), p. 290.</ref>