A Barry boy born in Thompson Street, the first generation child of a Somali man and a Welsh white woman, this icon of his community and of Wales, travelled an amazing journey from the streets of Barry to the United Nations.
He was educated in Barry and then Oxford University, became a Government Minister and Ambassador for the fledgling Somali Republic and then Under General Secretary of the United Nations.
Along the way his family formed the first multi-racial youth club in wales (The Domino Club), he was Ambassador in Ethiopia and he Chaired the United Nations Special Committee on Apartheid and was an active and prominent figure in the release of Nelson Mandela.