section_path: Early career
section_name: Early career
paragraph_text: Early career
  
  In a professional capacity, Hassan accepted a position as an instructor and trainer at the Lafole Technical Secondary School. He later joined the Somali National University-affiliated Technical Teachers' Training College in 1984. In 1986, he became the department's head.
  
  When the civil war broke out in the early 1990s, Hassan remained in Somalia and acted as a consultant with various NGOs, UN bureaus, and peace and development projects. He worked as an education officer for UNICEF in the central and southern parts of the country from 1993 to 1995. In 1999, he also co-established the Somali Institute of Management and Administration (SIMAD) in the capital. The institution subsequently grew into the SIMAD University, with Hassan acting as dean until 2010.
  
  Hassan entered Somali politics the following year, when he established the independent Peace and Development Party (PDP). PDP members unanimously elected him as the party's chairman in April 2011, with a mandate to serve as leader for the next three years. In August 2012, Hassan was selected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the newly formed Federal Parliament of Somalia. Besides academic and civic work, he is also a successful entrepreneur.