Omar is a
Polisario Front veteran who has lived in exile in the
Tindouf province,
Algeria since 1975. He has held several ministerial posts in previous governments, served as speaker of the
Sahrawi National Council (the parliament in exile) in the 1995-1999 period, and re-appointed again to that post in early 2012. Omar was widely tipped to be the favorite to succeed
Mohamed Abdelaziz, to the post of president in 2015, with the Algerian
Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité considered to be preferring him over other candidates. But Abdelkader ruled himself out, paving way for
Brahim Ghali, who was serving as the ambassador in
Algiers at that time, and was also considered to be close to the Algerian DRS to ascend to that post. Omar is widely perceived as a liberal, arguing for a return of the
United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara to Sahrawi territories, as a preclude to the referendum, unlike many other Polisario Front leaders who would prefer an armed resistance against Morocco. == References ==