President of Somalia

The **president of Somalia** () is the head of state of Somalia. The President is also commander-in-chief of the Somali Armed Forces. The president represents the Federal Republic of Somalia.

The office of President of Somalia was created with the proclamation of the Republic of Somalia on 1 July 1960. The first president of Somalia was Aden Abdullah Osman Daar.

## History

The first president of Somalia was Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, one of the leaders of the Somali Youth League (SYL), who took office on 1 July 1960, the day on which Somalia was declared a republic. Since then the office has been held by seven further people: Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, Mohamed Siad Barre, Ali Mahdi, Abdiqasim Salad, Abdullahi Yusuf, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. In addition, Sheikh Mukhtar acted as president between Shemarke's assassination and the coup d'état, and Aden Madoobe acted as president after Yusuf's resignation in the 2008.

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed took office on 31 January 2009, after being elected by the presidential election held in January 2009. Ahmed's term as President of Somalia officially ended In August 2012, concurrent with the conclusion of the transitional federal government's mandate and the start of the federal government of Somalia. He was succeeded in office by General Muse Hassan, who had been serving in an interim capacity.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office on 16 September 2012, after being elected by the presidential election held on 10 September 2012.

## Duties and responsibilities

An outline of the duties are as follow:
- Appoint the prime minister,
- Serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Somali Armed Forces;
- Declare a state of emergency and war in accordance with the law,
- Appoint and dismiss the commanders of the forces at the federal government level on the recommendation by the Council of Ministers;
- Dismiss ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers on the recommendation of the prime minister;
- Sign draft laws passed by the federal Parliament in order to bring them into law;
- Open the House of the People of the Federal Parliament;
- Hold an annual session with the House of the People of the Federal Parliament;
- Appoint the chairman of the Constitutional Court, the High Court, and other judges at the federal government level in accordance with the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission;
- Appoint senior federal government officials and the heads of the federal government institutions on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers;
- Appoint ambassadors and high commissions on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers;
- Receive foreign diplomats and consuls;
- Confer state honours on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers;
- Dissolve the House of the People of the Federal Parliament when its term expires, thereby prompting new elections;
- Pardon offenders and commute sentences on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission; and
- Sign international treaties proposed by the Council of Ministers and approved by the House of the People of the Federal Parliament.

## List

|colspan=2|Name|Portrait|Birth–Death|Elected|Took office|Left office|Political party|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="8" bgcolor="lightgrey" align=center|• **Somali Republic** (1960–1969) •|||||||
|Aden Adde||1908–2007|1960|1 July 1960|10 June 1967|SYL||
|Abdirashid Shermarke||1919–1969|1967|10 June 1967|15 October 1969|SYL||
|Sheikh Mukhtar Mohamed Hussein||1912–2012|—|15 October 1969|21 October 1969|SYL||
|colspan="8" bgcolor="lightgrey" align=center|• **Somali Democratic Republic** (1969–1991) •|||||||
|Siad Barre||1919–1995|1980 1986|21 October 1969|26 January 1991|Military / SRSP||
|colspan="8" bgcolor="lightgrey" align=center|• **Interim Government of Somalia** (1991–1997) •|||||||
|Ali Mahdi Muhammad||1939–|1991|27 January 1991|3 January 1997|USC||
|Mohamed Farrah Aidid||1934— 1996||3 January 1995|1 August 1996|Independent||
|Hussein Farrah Aidid||1962 —||1 August 1996|20 March 1998|Independent||
|Somali National Alliance||—||20 March 1998|2000|Co-Chairmen of National Salvation Council||
|Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council||—||2000|27 August 2000|Independent||
|colspan="8" bgcolor="lightgrey" align=center|• **Transitional National Government of Somalia** (2000–2004) •|||||||
|Mohamed Abshir Muse||1926 – 2017||13 August  2000|22 August  2000|Independent||
|Abdallah Isaaq Deerow||1950–2006||22 August  2000|27 August 2000|Independent||
|Abdiqasim Salad||1941–|2000|27 August 2000|1 July 2003|Independent||
|Abdinur Darman||1953–||1 July 2003|14 October 2003|Independent||
|Abdiqasim Salad||1941–||14 October 2003|14 October 2004|Independent||
|colspan="8" bgcolor="lightgrey" align=center|• **Transitional Federal Government of Somalia** (2004–2012) •|||||||
|Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed||1934–2012|2004|14 October 2004|29 December 2008|Independent||
|Sharif Sheikh Ahmed||1964–||5 June 2006|29June  2006|Islamic Courts Union||
|Hassan Dahir Aweys||1935—||29 June  2006|29 December 2006|Islamic Courts Union||
|Aden Madobe||1957–|—|29 December 2008|31 January 2009|RRA||
|Sharif Sheikh Ahmed||1964–|2009|31 January 2009|20 August 2012|ARS||
|colspan="8" bgcolor="lightgrey" align=center|• **Federal Republic of Somalia** (2012–present) •|||||||
|Muse Hassan Sheikh Sayid Abdulle||1939–|—|20 August 2012|28 August 2012|Independent||
|Mohamed Osman Jawari||1945–|—|28 August 2012|16 September 2012|Independent||
|Hassan Sheikh Mohamud||1955–|2012|16 September 2012|16 February 2017|PDP||
|Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed||1962–|2017|16 February 2017|16 February 2021|TPP||
|Hassan Sheikh Mohamud||1955–|2021|16 February 2021|16 February 2022|PDP||
|Hassan Sheikh Mohamud||1955–|2022|16 February 2022|6 June 2022|PDP||
|H.E.Sadia Haji Samatar||1955–||6 June 2022|28 August 2022|PDP||
|Hassan Sheikh Mohamud||1955–|—|28 August 2022|Incumbent|PDP||

## Living former presidents

As of , there are three living former presidents of Somalia, as seen below.

The most recent president to die was Ali Mahdi Muhammad (served 1991–1997), on 10 March 2021, at the age of 82.

## Infobox (political post)

- **post**: President
- **body**: the
Federal Republic of Somalia
- **insignia**: Seal of the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia.svg
- **insigniasize**: 180px
- **insigniacaption**: Presidential Seal
- **flag**: Flag of Somalia.svgborder
- **flagsize**: 125px
- **flagcaption**: Flag of Somalia
- **image**: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud 2013.jpg
- **imagesize**: 165px
- **incumbent**: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Hassan Mohamud
- **incumbentsince**: 15 May 2022
- **residence**: Villa Somalia
- **salary**: $250,000 annually (2023)
- **formation**: 1 July 1960
- **termlength**: Four years, renewable once
- **inaugural**: Aden Abdullah Osman Daar