Jigjiga (AX) — Somali Regional State lawmakers have reelected President Mustafe Mohamud Omar Cagjar to a further five-year term, and within hours he unveiled a new 27-member Executive Council to run the region’s government.
The council serves as the regional cabinet, with members assigned portfolios ranging from security, finance and justice to agriculture, health, education, trade, investment and infrastructure.
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Dr. Hussein Abdullahi Qasim will head the Office of the President, while Abdiqadir Rashid Duale was appointed to lead the Security Office. Mohamed Muse Guure will oversee the Finance Office, Khadir Abdirahman Ahmed the Justice Office and Guled Ahmed Ali the Agriculture Office.
Mohamed Sheikh Adan Ismail was appointed to the Education Office, and Faysal Rashid Omar to Skills and Job Creation. Muse Ahmed Ibrahim will lead the Health Office, Siyad Nur Abdi the Water Office and Ibrahim Hassan Ali the Livestock Office.
Hussein Gaydh Ahmed was named to the Revenue Office, Omer-Farouk Haji Warfaa to Planning and Hibo Ahmed Omar to Trade. Halimo Hassan Mohamud will head the Women’s Affairs Office, while Ayan Abdi Mohamed was appointed to the Civil Service Office.
Mohamed Fatah Mohamed will oversee Irrigation, with Abdi Ahmed Hassan, known as Abdirauuf, taking charge of Information. Khadra Bashir Mohamud was appointed to Investment and Industry, Idiris Muse Abdi to Roads and Ahmed Shukri Abdi to Urban Development.
Mohamed Ali Dahir, known as Gurey, was named to the Innovation and Technology Office, while Ahmed-Yasin Sheikh Ibrahim Abdi will lead Disaster Management. Fadumo Abdirisaq Adow was appointed to the Minerals and Petroleum Office and Ayan Mohamed Mohamud to Culture and Tourism.
Muhyadin Abdi Hussein will oversee Social Affairs, Mohamed Mahdi Adan will lead Youth and Sports, and Hani Mohamed Khayre was appointed to Environmental Protection and Climate Change.
The appointments followed the Somali Regional State parliament’s reelection of Mustafe during the opening session of the region’s seventh council.
Lawmakers also returned Ibrahim Osman Farah as vice president and elected Mubashir Dubad Rage speaker of the regional parliament.
Mustafe Cagjar has led the Somali Regional State since August 2018, when he assumed office after the removal of former regional President Abdi Mohamoud Omar, widely known as Abdi Iley.
He retained the presidency after the 2021 regional election, in which the Somali branch of Ethiopia’s Prosperity Party secured control of the regional council.
His latest reelection grants him another five-year mandate and carries his leadership of the region into a third political phase since he took office in 2018.
The Somali Regional State is one of Ethiopia’s federal regions and shares borders with Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti. Its Executive Council is responsible for key areas of regional administration, including security, finance, social services, infrastructure, natural resources and economic development.
The council’s formation is the first major administrative move of Mustafe’s 2026-2031 term.
