Mohamed Yussuf Haji is the sitting Garissa senator, first elected to office in 2013 on a TNA ticket.
Haji was born on December 23, 1940, in Garissa District in the then North Eastern Province.
He hails from the Abdalla sub-clan of the Ogaden Darod.
Many people know Senator Haji as an old school politician who served in various government positions right from Jomo Kenyatta's era, Moi's regime and in Part of Kibaki's rule in 2002.
His brilliant career in the public service began way back in 1970 in the Provincial Administration where he served as the Provincial Commissioner for the North Eastern province before getting into politics in 1998 after being nominated as a Member of Parliament.
He has also worked at the capacities of the assistant minister for defence and later defence minister in the office of the president in early 2008 just after the disputed 2007 polls.
On his Garissa politics, Haji has found himself on the crossroads with governor Jama over governance issues.
The latest confrontation occurred in early July 2016 when he demanded that the governor pays hired contractors who have gone for months without pay despite completing their awarded tenders.
Concerning the 2017 elections, Senator Haji is expected to defend his position under the Jubilee Alliance.