Somalia

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Somalia

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The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) (Somali: Dowladda Federaalka Kumeelgaarka) is the internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP).

The Transitional Federal Government officially comprises the executive branch of government, with the TFP serving as the legislative branch. The government is headed by the President of Somalia, to whom the cabinet reports through the Prime Minister. However, it is also used as a general term to refer to all three branches collectively.

The various departments of government, such as the Ministry of Defence, fall under the different cabinet portfolios.

Backed by the United Nations, the African Union as well as the United States, the government is currently battling Al Shabaab insurgents to assume full control of the southern part of the country. The government and its AMISOM allies managed to secure control over all of Mogadishu in August 2011.^[1] According to the AU and Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, with increasing troop strength, the pace of territorial gains is expected to greatly accelerate.^[2][3]

In June 2011, the mandates of the President, the Parliament Speaker and Deputies were extended until August 2012, after which point new elections are to be organized.^[4]

Structure[link]

The legal structure in Somalia is divided along three lines: civil law, religious law, and traditional clan law.

Civil law[link]

While Somalia's formal judicial system was largely destroyed after the fall of the Siad Barre regime, it has been rebuilt and is now administered under different regional governments such as the autonomous Puntland and Somaliland macro-regions. In the case of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), a new judicial structure was formed through various international conferences.

Despite some significant political differences between them, all of these administrations share similar legal structures, much of which are predicated on the judicial systems of previous Somali administrations. These similarities in civil law include:^[5]

• A charter which affirms the primacy of shari'a or Islamic law, although in practice shari'a is applied mainly to matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and civil issues.
• The charter guarantees respect for universal standards of human rights to all subjects of the law. It also assures the independence of the judiciary, which in turn is protected by a judicial committee.
• A three-tier judicial system including a supreme court, a court of appeals, and courts of first instance (either divided between district and regional courts, or a single court per region).
• The laws of the civilian government which were in effect prior to the military coup d'état that saw the Barre regime into power remain in force until the laws are amended.

Constitution[link]

Alongside the national constitution, the Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic (TFC) lays out the basic way in which the government is to operate.

Council of Ministers[link]

The Cabinet, formally known as the Council of Ministers, at first comprised 42 offices, but was later slimmed down to 31 portfolios during a period of contention in 2006. In 2010, it was further scaled down to 18 posts. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the Prime Minister.

The current government posts and ministerial positions are as follows:

Executive branch[link]

A President is elected by Parliament. The President is head of government, and chooses the Prime Minister, who leads the cabinet. The current President is Sharif Ahmed, who took office on January 31, 2009. The current Prime Minister is Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, who took office on June 19, 2011.

Parliament[link]

The Transitional Federal Parliament elects the President and Prime Minister, and has the authority to pass and veto laws. It is also in charge of governance and administration of Mogadishu. Each of the four major clans hold 61 seats, while an alliance of minority clans hold 31 seats. After an alliance with the Islamic Courts Union and other Islamist groups was formed, the Islamists were awarded 200 seats. Representatives of citizens' groups and representatives of the Somali diaspora hold 75 seats. By law, at least 12% of all representatives must be women. Members of parliament are selected through traditional clan leaders or shura councils.

Judiciary[link]

Under the Transitional Federal Government, a Supreme Court based in Mogadishu was established, as well as an Appeals Court. Smaller local courts were also established. A Judicial Service Council directs all judiciary and advises the president. All Sharia courts established by the ICU were discontinued, but Islamic prinicples are to be used in TFG courts.

State governments[link]

Under the Transitional Federal Government, local state governments maintain some power over their affairs and maintain their own police and security forces, but are subject to the authority of the Transitional Federal Government.

Education[link]

The Ministry of Education is officially responsible for education in Somalia, with about 15% of the government's budget being spent on education. However, in practice, the education system is now largely private. In 2006, the autonomous Puntland region in the northeast was the second territory in Somalia after the Somaliland region to introduce free primary schools, with teachers now receiving their salaries from the Puntland administration.^[6] As of 2007, primary schools have also seen a 28% increase in enrollment over the preceding three years.^[7] In addition, several universities in Somalia, including Mogadishu University, have been scored among the 100 best universities in Africa despite the harsh environment, which has been hailed as a triumph for grass-roots initiatives.^[8]

Healthcare[link]

The Ministry of Health heads the country's healthcare system. The current Minister of Health is Qamar Adan Ali.^[9] The autonomous Puntland region has its own local Ministry of Health, which is headed by Dr. Mohamed Bashir Ali Bihi,^[10] as does the Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia, with its Ministry of Health led by Osman Bile Ali.^[11]

Media[link]

The federal government has two main media outlets: Radio Mogadishu, the state-run radio station; and Somali National Television, the national television channel.

Military and police[link]

The Transitional Federal Government's Ministry of Defense is officially responsible for the Somali National Army (SNA).

In August 2011, a TFG-Puntland cooperative agreement called for the creation of a Somali Marine Force unit, of which the already established Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) would form a part.^[12]

There are also plans for the re-establishment of the Somali Air Force.

In addition, a new police force was re-established to maintain law and order. The first police academy to be built in Somalia for several years opened on December 20, 2005 at Armo, 100 kilometres south of Bosaso.^[13] The Somali police also has a criminal investigations department in Mogadishu.

The autonomous Puntland and Somaliland regions within Somalia have their own security forces.

Capital[link]

The skyline of Mogadishu.

As with previous Somali administrations, the Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic recognizes Mogadishu as the capital of Somalia. The Parliament of Somalia meets in the city, which is also the seat of the nation's Supreme Court. In addition, Mogadishu is the location of the presidential palace, Villa Somalia, where the President resides. The Prime Minister also lives in the city. Mogadishu is the largest city in Somalia with a population of over 2 million people.^[14] Prior to the civil war, it was known as the "White Pearl of the Indian Ocean".^[15]

History[link]

Map of Somalia 23 March 2012, after the government expansion in the fall of 2011, with the blue areas being under control of the Transitional Federal Government and the autonomous region of Puntland, the yellow area being the secessionist region of Somaliland, and the rest being held by Islamist militias.

Map of Mogadishu as of November 2010, with the blue being controlled by the Transitional Federal Government, and the green being held by al-Shabaab. The TFG currently controls all of Mogadishu and currently controls 10 miles out from its city-center.

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of the Republic of Somalia was established to restore national institutions to Somalia after the 1991 collapse of the Siad Barre regime and the ensuing Somali Civil War. Established in 2004 and internationally recognized, its support in Somalia was waning until the United States-backed 2006 intervention by the Ethiopian military, which helped drive out the rival Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Mogadishu and solidify the TFG's rule.^[16]

Between May 31 and June 9, 2008, representatives of Somalia's federal government and the moderate Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) group of Islamist rebels participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the former United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. The conference ended with a signed agreement calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation of armed confrontation. Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats to accommodate ARS members, which then elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the former ARS chairman, to office. President Sharif shortly afterwards appointed Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, the son of slain former President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, as the nation's new Prime Minister.^[17]

Embassy of Somalia in Paris, France.

With the help of a small team of African Union troops, the coalition government also began a counteroffensive in February 2009 to retake control of the southern half of the country. To solidify its control of southern Somalia, the TFG formed an alliance with the Islamic Courts Union, other members of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, a moderate Sufi militia.^[18] Furthermore, Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, the two main Islamist groups in opposition, began to fight amongst themselves in mid-2009.^[19]

As a truce, in March 2009, Somalia's newly established coalition government announced that it would re-implement Shari'a as the nation's official judicial system.^[20] However, conflict continues in the southern and central parts of the country between government troops and al-Shabaab, extremist Islamist militants with links to al-Qaeda.^[21]

On October 14, 2010, diplomat Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was appointed the new Prime Minister of Somalia after the resignation of Premier Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.^[22]

Foreign Minister of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar in a meeting with UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and other diplomats at the UN headquarters in New York.

Per the Transitional Federal Government's (TFG) Charter,^[23] Prime Minister Mohamed named a new Cabinet on November 12, 2010,^[24] which has been lauded by the international community.^[25][26] The allotted ministerial positions were reduced from 39 to 18.^[24][27] Only two Ministers from the previous Cabinet were reappointed: Hussein Abdi Halane, the former Minister of Finance and a well-regarded figure in the international community,^[28] was put in charge of a consolidated Ministry of Finance and Treasury; and Dr. Mohamud Abdi Ibrahim remained the minister of Commerce and Industry.^[28] Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, a moderate Sufi group and an important military ally of the TFG, was also accorded the key Interior and Labour ministries.^[27][28] The remaining ministerial positions were largely assigned to technocrats new to the Somali political arena.^[29]

In February 2012, Somali government officials met in the northeastern town of Garowe to discuss post-transition arrangements. After extensive deliberations attended by regional actors and international observers, the conference ended in a signed agreement between TFG President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Speaker of Parliament Sharif Adan Sharif Hassan, Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole, Galmudug President Mohamed Ahmed Alim and Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a representatative Khalif Abdulkadir Noor stipulating that: a) a new 225 member bicameral parliament would be formed, consisting of an upper house seating 54 Senators as well as a lower house; b) 30% of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) is earmarked for women; c) the President is to be appointed via a constitutional election; and d) the Prime Minister is selected by the President and he/she then names his/her Cabinet.^[30][31]

The Transitional Federal Government continues to reach out to both Somali and international stakeholders to help grow the administrative capacity of the Transitional Federal Institutions and plans on conducting national elections by August of 2012,^[4][32][33] when the interim government's mandate expires.^[2][32] A national election committee is also being organized to oversee the transition to a representative government.^[34]

International relations[link]

Current diplomatic missions of Somalia

The Transitional Federal Government is internationally recognized as the official government of Somalia. It occupies Somalia's seat in the United Nations, the African Union, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The Permanent Representative of Somalia to the United Nations is Elmi Ahmed Duale. The Deputy Permanent Representative is Idd Beddel Mohamed. Somalia is one of the founding members of the OIC. The TFG also has ambassadors in other countries.

The Transitional Federal Government currently maintains embassies in 34 countries.^[35] Ethiopia maintains an embassy in Mogadishu,^[36] and consulates in Hargeisa in Somaliland and in Garowe in Puntland.^[37][38] Djibouti re-opened its embassy in Mogadishu in December 2010.^[39] The following year, India also re-opened its embassy in the capital after a twenty year absence.^[40] Italy maintains a special diplomatic delegation and a Technical Mission to Mogadishu, and is scheduled to re-open its embassy in the city.^[41] In 2011, the United Kingdom likewise announced plans to re-open its embassy in Mogadishu.^[42]

Passports[link]

For travel, Somali citizens can obtain a Somali passport from government-designated locations or from Somali embassies abroad.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Benadir Regional Administration - Transitional Federal Government of Somalia

A map displaying current official federations

A federation (Latin: foedus, foederis, 'covenant'), also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central (federal) government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of the central government.

The form of government or constitutional structure found in a federation is known as federalism. It can be considered the opposite of another system, the unitary state. Germany with sixteen Länder is an example of a federation, whereas neighboring Austria and its Bundesländer was a unitary state with administrative divisions that became federated, and neighboring France by contrast has always been unitary.

Federations may be multi-ethnic and cover a large area of territory (eg.India), although neither is necessarily the case. The initial agreements create a stability that encourages other common interests, brings the disparate territories closer, and gives them all even more common ground. At some time this is recognized and a movement is organized to merge more closely. Other times, especially when common cultural factors are at play such as ethnicity and language, some of these steps in this pattern are expedited and compressed.

The international council for federal countries, the Forum of Federations,^[1] is based in Ottawa, Canada. It helps share best practices among countries with federal systems of government, and currently includes nine countries as partner governments.

History[link]

Several ancient chiefdoms and kingdoms, such as The 4th century BC League of Corinth, Noricum in Central Europe, and the Iroquois in pre-Columbian North America, could be described as federations or confederations. The Old Swiss Confederacy was an early example of formal non-unitary statehood.

Several colonies and dominions in the New World consisted of autonomous provinces, transformed to federal states upon independence (see Spanish American wars of independence). The oldest continuous federation, and a role model for many subsequent federations, is the United States of America. Some of the New World federations failed; the Federal Republic of Central America broke up into independent states 20 years after its founding. Others, such as Argentina and Mexico, have shifted between federal, confederal and unitary systems, before settling as federations. Brazil became a federation only after fall of the monarchy (see States of Brazil), and Venezuela became a federation after the Federal War.

Germany is another nation-state that has switched between confederal, federal and unitary rule, since the German Confederation was founded in 1815. The North German Confederation, the Weimar Republic and West Germany were federations.

Founded in 1922, the Soviet Union was formally a federation of Soviet Republics, Autonomous republics of the Soviet Union and other federal subjects, though in practice highly centralized under the Government of the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation has inherited a similar system.

Several dominons of the British Empire, independent during the years past World War II, became federations: Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Malaysia. Australia and Canada are independent federations, yet Commonwealth realms.

The Forum of Federations was established in 1999.

In some recent cases, federations have been a measure to handle with ethnic conflict within a state, such as Bosnia and Hercegovina and Iraq since 2005.

Federations and other forms of state[link]

A map of the United States of America showing its fifty constituent states and the Federal District

A map of the United Mexican States (Mexico), showing its thirty-one constituent states and the Federal District