Ismail was born in
Somaliland, in the former north-western
British Somaliland protectorate. For his secondary education, he attended Aden College in
Aden,
Yemen, passing his GCE levels in 1960. Ismail first gained an interest in governance and public administration during this early period. His initial exposure to the subject was through a book by
Ismail al-Azhari,
Sudan's then and first Prime Minister. Ismail later studied
political science at university, reading
Austin Ranney's
The Governing of Men for a freshman class. He graduated with a diploma in Government and Public Administration, and subsequently earned a master's degree in Local Government and Administration. ==Career==