Essa Kayd

Dr. Essa Abdirahman Mohamoud Kayd (Somali: Ciise Cabdiraxmaan Keyd;^[1][2][3] Arabic: عيسى كيد) is a Somaliland politician who served as Somaliland's Minister of Foreign Affairs.^[4]

Dr. Essa Kayd
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 3 March 2021 – 14 December 2024
President	Muse Bihi Abdi
Preceded by	Yasin Haji Mohamoud
Succeeded by	Abdirahman Dahir Adam Bakal
Personal details
Citizenship	Somalilander
Political party	Peace, Unity, and Development Party
Children	9
Residence(s)	Hargeisa, Somaliland

Early life

Kayd was born in 1960 in Hargeisa.^{[citation needed]} After spending his teenage years in Djibouti, he went to school in France, graduating from the Université de la Timone with a Master of Neuroscience. Soon after, he moved to Ottawa, Canada where he worked with the Ottawa Civic Hospital's Institute of Neuroscience from 1990-1999 as a Neurodiagnostic Specialist.

Career

In the early 2000s he moved to Boston, United States, where he worked as the Chief of the Neurophysiology Department at Brigham Women's Hospital. Having acquired many years of experience, he started to also work with Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital, where he was responsible for training Harvard residents and fellow Doctors in Neurophysiology.

Kayd returned to Hargesia in 2006, and was appointed Somaliland's Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2021. His focus is to build Somaliland’s international case whilst showing the world the potential advantage that Somaliland’s strategic location holds in the Horn of Africa for business, development and trade for landlocked countries in Africa. Kayd served until December 2024, and was succeeded by Abdirahman Dahir Adam Bakal

Kayd is fluent in French, English and Somali and has 9 children.