MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Abdullahi Yusuf, who rose from guerrilla warrior to president of Somalia only to watch his administration crumble under a ferocious Islamic insurgency, died Friday in Dubai. He was 78.

Yusuf served as president of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia from 2004-2008. The family announced the death was caused by complications from pneumonia.

Yusuf suffered from chronic health problems for years, including a liver transplant in 1996. In 2006, he survived a suicide car bombing that killed his brother and several bodyguards, one of several assassination attempts.

His administration struggled to assert control in Somalia after assuming power in 2004, when the first government in 13 years was formed with the help of the U.N. At his inauguration, held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi due to security concerns, Yusuf pronounced himself “a man of peace” and urged his citizens to forgive one another.

Somalia has not had a fully functioning government since.