Garaad Ali IV was the fifteenth "garaad guud" of the reer darawiish tribe. This means he was the 15th supreme chieftain of the reer darawiish tribe. He was the only Somali tribal leader not to have signed a treaty with a colonial power. After his disagreements with the Sayid, Garaad Ali IV was replaced as the Dhulbahante king with Diiriye Guure in 1897. Because of disagreements, the Sayyid named Diiriye Guure as Dhulbahante Sultan instead of Garaad Ali IV, and Diiriye Guure afterwards became Dhulbahante Sultan and Darawiish Sultan at the same time.