GOVERNMENT
A transitional government, the components of which are known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) was formed in 2004 following the conclusion of a 2-year reconciliation conference. The TFIs include a transitional parliament, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (formed in August 2004), as well as a Transitional Federal Government (TFG) that includes a transitional President, Prime Minister and a cabinet known as the "Council of Ministers." For administrative purposes, Somalia is divided into 18 regions; the nature, authority, and structure of regional governments vary, where they exist.
POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
In early 2002, Kenya organized a reconciliation effort under IGAD auspices known
as the Somalia National Reconciliation Conference, which concluded in October
2004. In August 2004, the Somali TFP was established as part of the IGAD-led
process. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected President of the TFG of Somalia on
October 10, 2004. President Yusuf resigned on December 29, 2008, and Sheikh
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected President of the TFG on January 30, 2009. The
components of the TFG, including the Parliament and Executive, are known as the
TFIs.
Two regional administrations exist in northern Somalia--the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland" in the northwest and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in the northeast. In Somaliland, which is made up of the former British protectorate, Dahir Riyale Kahin was elected President in presidential elections deemed free and fair by international observers in May 2003. The area of Puntland declared itself autonomous (although not independent) in 1998 with its capital at Garowe. Abdirahman Mohamed Farole was elected President by the Puntland parliament in January 2009. Puntland declared it would remain autonomous until a federated Somalia state was established.
Principal
Government Officials
Following the December 29, 2008, resignation of former TFG President Abdullahi
Yusuf Ahmed, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected by the TFP as President of
the TFG on January 30, 2009. On February 13, 2009, President Sharif appointed
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as the new Prime Minister of the TFG and Sharmarke
was confirmed by the TFP on February 14. Following a no-confidence motion
against former Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden on January 17,
2007, the TFP elected Speaker Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur “Madobe” on January 31, 2007. A cabinet known as the Council of Ministers also exists; a new cabinet of 36 ministers was appointed on February 20, 2009, and approved by Parliament on February 21, 2009. Prime Minister Sharmarke restructured his cabinet on August 18, 2009, appointing several new ministers, including the ministers of foreign affairs and defense, and creating several new posts. This shake-up brought the number of ministers to 39.
The self-declared “Republic of Somaliland” consists of a regional authority based in the city of Hargeisa, including a President, Vice President, parliament, and cabinet officials.
Other Ministers
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources--Abdirahman
Aden Ibrahim
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance--Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden
Deputy Prime Minister of Energy and Petroleum Resources--Abdiwahid Elmi Gonjeeh
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar
Minister of Defense--Mohamed Abdi Mohamed
Minister of National Planning and International Cooperation--Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame
Minister of Constitution and Federal Affairs--Madobe Nunow Mohamed
Minister of Interior--Abdulkadir Ali Omar
Minister of Security--Omar Hashi Aden
Ambassador to the United Nations--Dr. Elmi Ahmed Duale
Ambassador to the United States--N/A
Type: Transitional government, known as the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG), established in October 2004 with a 5-year mandate leading to the
establishment of a permanent government following national elections in 2009. In
January 2009, the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP) extended this mandate an
additional two years to 2011 and expanded to include 200 Members of Parliament
(MPs) from the opposition Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia and 75 MPs
from civil society and other groups, doubling the size of the TFP to 550
MPs.
Independence: July 1, 1960 (from a merger between the former Somaliland Protectorate under British rule, which became independent from the U.K. on June 26, 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on July 1, 1960, to form the Somali Republic).
Constitution: None in force. Note: A Transitional Federal Charter was established in February 2004 and is expected to serve as the basis for a future constitution in Somalia. In August 2004, the Somali TFP was established as part of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-led Somalia National Reconciliation Conference in accordance with the Charter. The Somalia National Reconciliation Conference concluded following the election of a Transitional President in October 2004.
Branches: Executive--On January 30, 2009, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected by the TFP as President of the TFG following the December 29, 2008, resignation of former TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. On February 13, 2009, President Sharif appointed Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as the new Prime Minister of the TFG. A cabinet, known as the Council of Ministers, also exists. Legislative--Transitional Federal Parliament, established in August 2004. Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur “Madobe” was elected Speaker of the Parliament on January 31, 2007. Judicial--Supreme Court not functioning; no functioning nationwide legal system; informal legal system based on previously codified law, Islamic (shari'a) law, customary practices, and the provisions of the Transitional Federal Charter.
Political party: None.
Note: In 1991, a congress drawn from the inhabitants of the former Somaliland Protectorate declared withdrawal from the 1960 union with Somalia to form the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. Somaliland has not received international recognition, but has maintained a de jure separate status since that time. Its form of government is republican, with a bicameral legislature including an elected elders chamber and a house of representatives. The judiciary is independent, and three official political parties exist. In line with the Somaliland Constitution, Vice President Dahir Riyale Kahin assumed the presidency following the death of former President Mohamed Ibrahim Egal in 2002. Kahin was elected President of Somaliland in elections determined to be free and fair by international observers in May 2003. Presidential elections originally scheduled to be held in April 2008 have now been postponed four times. Elections for the 84-member lower house of parliament took place on September 29, 2005 and were described as transparent and credible by international observers.
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (no nationwide elections).
Administrative subdivisions: 18 regions (plural--NA; singular--Gobolka). Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellah Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed.
Central government budget: N/A.
Defense: N/A.
National holiday: July 1 (June 26 in Somaliland).
