Who are Somalia’s political leaders?.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s political leadership is split between the federal government in Mogadishu and a set of federal member states that run their own regional administrations under the country’s federal system. The internationally recognized federal leadership is headed by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre.

Somalia also faces a long-running territorial and political dispute with Somaliland, a region in the north that declared independence in 1991 and operates separate institutions but is not recognized as an independent state by the United Nations, the African Union or other countries, according to the Associated Press.

Federal government: president, prime minister and parliament

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has led Somalia’s federal government since he was elected by lawmakers in May 2022, according to reports carried by Reuters and other international media at the time.

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre was nominated by the president in June 2022 and has served as head of government since then, according to the African Union and Somalia’s prime minister’s office.

The federal parliament is bicameral. The House of the People, the lower chamber, is led by Speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur Madobe, who was elected in April 2022, according to the African Union’s Somalia mission and other contemporaneous reports.

The upper chamber, the Senate, is led by Speaker Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, who was re-elected in April 2022, according to the Senate’s official website and reports from the period.

Federal member states: regional presidents

Somalia’s federal system gives substantial authority to federal member states that elect their own leaders and run regional administrations, though relations with Mogadishu have often been politically contentious.

In Puntland, the region’s president is Said Abdullahi Deni, who was re-elected in January 2024, according to reporting and documentation compiled by international and government sources.

In Galmudug, the regional president is Ahmed Abdi Kariye, widely known as “Qoor Qoor,” according to Somalia’s state news agency and other reporting.

In Hirshabelle, the regional president is Ali Abdullahi Hussein, also known as Ali Gudlawe, according to published profiles and reporting that identify him as the state’s leader.

In South West State, the regional president is Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, commonly known as Laftagareen, according to regional and Somali media reporting and the state’s presidency website.

In Jubaland, the regional leader is Ahmed Mohamed Islam, commonly known as Ahmed Madobe, according to Somali media reports and regional coverage. Jubaland politics have repeatedly drawn objections from Somalia’s federal authorities, and leadership disputes have flared at different points over electoral processes and the balance of power between Mogadishu and member states.

Somaliland: separate leadership outside the federal system

In Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi became the region’s president after an election and was sworn in in December 2024, the Axadle reported.

Somalia’s federal government does not recognize Somaliland as a separate state, while Somaliland maintains its own government institutions and security structures, according to News Source.

Ali Musa
Axadle International Monitoring – Somalia