page_title: Somalia–United States relations
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Somalia–United States relations / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Row houses located at 1804&#8211;1808 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. 1804 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. (left) &#8211; Built in 1896, the home reflects a combination of the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque architectural styles. Previous occupants include William S. Knox and Michel O. Dumas (physician, president of the National Medical Association, member of Howard University's board of trustees). 1806 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. (center) &#8211; Built in 1901, the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque property currently serves as headquarters for the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs. Previous occupants include George Evan Roberts (director of the U.S. Mint, president of the Commercial National Bank of Chicago, and author), John Kerfoot Souther (an artist and member of the Cosmos Club), Mary A. Kirkup (an artist), the Persian National Association of America (headquarters), the Arab States Delegation (headquarters), Charles E. Miller (CPA, banker, and U.S. ambassador to Liberia), and the Embassy of Somalia. 1808 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. (right) &#8211; Built in 1883 for Walter Paris, an architect and artist, the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque property has operated as the Swann House bed and breakfast since 1996; the innkeepers are Mary Lotto Ross and Rick Verkler. In addition to the original and current owners, previous occupants include Colonel Theodore W. Tyrer, Eva Roberts Cromwell (the widow of Oliver Eaton Cromwell; her marriage to Edward T. Stotesbury in 1912 took place at the New Hampshire Avenue property; wedding guests included U.S. President William Howard Taft, First Lady Helen Herron Taft, and J. P. Morgan), David F. Houston, Edward Philip Farley (chairman of the U.S. Shipping Board), Edith Cummings, George A. Garrett, and a large number of residents when the property operated as a boarding house from the 1940s&#8211;1990s. All three buildings are designated as contributing properties to the Dupont Circle Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
context_page_description: Somalia–United States relations are bilateral relations between the Federal Republic of Somalia and the United States of America. Somalia has an embassy in Washington, D.C., and the United States maintains an embassy in Mogadishu which was reopened in late 2019.
context_section_description: Somalia had historic relations with the United States under the Geledi Sultanate. In 1776, the Geledi Sultanate was the first independent state in Africa to recognise the United States, and diplomatic relations were established in 1777 with the Geledi sharing naval intelligence with the American naval forces. In 1897, the Geledi Sultanate sent a high-profile delegation to New York under their foreign minister Khalid Aden Mohammed and signed the Indian Ocean Naval Treaty to combat Zanzibar slave trading.
  During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Somalia's then socialist government abandoned alliances with its former partner the Soviet Union due to fallout over the Ogaden War. Because the Soviet Union had close relations with both the Somali government and Ethiopia's then new communist Dergue regime, they were forced to choose one side to commit to. The Soviet shift in support to Ethiopia motivated the Siad Barre government to seek allies elsewhere. It eventually settled on the Soviet Unions' Cold War rival, the United States. The US had been courting the Somali government for some time on account of Somalia's strategic position at the mouth of the Bab el Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Somalia's initial friendship with the Soviet Union and later military support by the United States enabled it to build the largest army on the continent.
  After the collapse of the Barre government and the start of the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s, the United States embassy in Mogadishu was evacuated and closed down. However, the American government never formally severed diplomatic ties with Somalia, leading the UN-sanctioned multinational Unified Task Force (UNITAF) in southern Somalia. Following the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004, the U.S. also acknowledged and supported the internationally recognized TFG as the country's national governing body. It likewise engaged Somalia's regional administrations, such as Puntland and Somaliland, to ensure broad-based inclusion in the peace process.
  The Federal Government of Somalia was established on August 20, 2012, concurrent with the end of the TFG's interim mandate. It represents the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war. On September 10, 2012, the new Federal Parliament also elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the incumbent President of Somalia. The election was welcomed by the U.S. authorities, who re-affirmed United States' continued support for Somalia's government, its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
  In January 2013, the U.S. announced that it was set to exchange diplomatic notes with the new central government of Somalia, re-establishing official ties with the country for the first time in 20 years. According to the Department of State, the decision was made in recognition of the significant progress that the Somali authorities had achieved on both the political and war fronts. The move is expected to grant the Somali government access to new sources of development funds from American agencies as well as international bodies like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, thereby facilitating the ongoing reconstruction process.
  At the behest of the Somali and American federal governments, among other international actors, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved United Nations Security Council Resolution 2093 during its 6 March 2013 meeting to suspend the 21-year arms embargo on Somalia. The endorsement officially lifts the purchase ban on light weapons for a provisional period of one year, but retains certain restrictions on the procurement of heavy arms such as surface-to-air missiles, howitzers and cannons. On April 9, 2013, the U.S. government likewise approved the provision of defense articles and services by the American authorities to the Somali Federal Government. At the request of the Somali authorities and AMISOM, the U.S. military in late 2013 also established a small team of advisers in Mogadishu to provide consultative and planning support to the allie
caption: Former Somalia embassy in Washington, D.C..
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