Somalia’s president named Hamza Abdi Barre, a former chairman of the Jubbaland state election commission, as prime minister on Wednesday.
“I ask the parliament to approve him as soon as possible. I ask the prime minister to fulfill the work before him like tackling insecurity, drought, climate change and good relations with all countries,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on state television.
Mohamud won the presidency for the second time last month, having previously served from 2012 to 2017, following a long-delayed election set against the backdrop of the worst drought in 40 years and a bloody Islamist insurgency.
“I thank God for making Somalia hold a fair election after a period of such uncertainty,” said Barre, a lawmaker elected in December last year for the city of Kismayo, where he co-founded a university.
“I assure you I will work day and night, and I will put together the best cabinet,” Barre said.
Former President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who attempted to extend his presidency, and former Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble had a bitter feud, with security forces splintering into factions supporting either man.
The rivalry sparked gunfights between security forces, diverting attention away from the fight against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants who control large swaths of the country and have killed tens of thousands in bombings.
The political crisis has also diverted attention away from a growing humanitarian crisis that has forced more than six million Somalis to rely on food aid.
“I congratulate the new Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre and wish him success,” Roble said in a comment shared on the state radio’s Twitter account.
