View source for President of Somalia

{{Short description|Head of state of Somalia}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = President
| body = the<br/>Federal Republic of Somalia
| native_name = {{small|{{lang|so|Madaxaweynaha Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliyeed}}}}
| insignia = Seal of the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia.svg
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = Presidential Seal
| insigniaalt = 
| flag = Flag of Somalia.svg
| flagsize = 
| flagalt = 
| flagborder = yes
| flagcaption = [[Flag of Somalia]]
| image = Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at Djiboutian presidential palace in Djibouti, Djibouti, September 24, 2023 - (cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 
| alt = 
| imagecaption = 
| incumbent = [[Hassan Sheikh Mohamud]]
| acting = no
| incumbentsince = 23 May 2022<ref name="BBC1">{{cite web|title=Somalia's new president elected by 327 people|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-61438047|last=Mohamud|first=Ali|publisher=BBC|date=15 May 2022|access-date=15 May 2022|archive-date=18 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518003252/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61438047|url-status=live}}</ref>
| department = 
| style = [[Mr. President (title)|Mr President]]<br>{{small|(informal)}}<br>[[Excellency|His Excellency]]<br>{{small|(diplomatic)}}
| type = {{ubl|[[Head of state]]|[[Executive President|Head of Executive]]|[[Commander-in-chief]]}}
| status = 
| abbreviation = POTFROS, POS
| member_of = [[National security council]] National Economic Council
| reports_to = 
| residence = [[Villa Somalia]]
| seat = [[Mogadishu]]
| nominator = 
| appointer = [[Federal Parliament of Somalia]]
| appointer_qualified = 
| termlength = Four years
| termlength_qualified = 
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of Somalia]] (2012)
| precursor = 
| formation = {{start date and age|df=y|1960|7|1}}
| first = [[Aden Abdullah Osman Daar]]
| last = 
| abolished = 
| succession = 
| unofficial_names = 
| deputy = 
| salary = $250,000 annually (2023)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/World/Salaries-for-sitting-African-presidents/688340-2804164-yk337w/index.html|title=Salaries for sitting African presidents|website=Daily Monitor|date=23 July 2015|access-date=14 March 2020|archive-date=17 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417071829/https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/World/Salaries-for-sitting-African-presidents/688340-2804164-yk337w/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| website = {{URL|http://villasomalia.gov.so/}}
| footnotes = 
}}
{{Politics of Somalia}}

The '''president of Somalia''' ({{langx|so|Madaxaweynaha Soomaaliya}}) is the [[head of state]] of [[Somalia]]. The president is also [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Somali Armed Forces]]. The president represents the [[Federal Government of Somalia|Federal Republic of Somalia]], and the unity of the Somali nation, as well as ensuring the implementation of the Constitution of Somalia and the organised and harmonious functioning of the organs of state.<ref name=Constitution>*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130124010543/http://www.somaliweyn.com/pages/news/Aug_12/Somalia_Constitution_English_FOR_WEB.pdf Provisional Constitution] (adopted August 1, 2012)</ref> Currently, the president of Somalia is [[indirect election|indirectly elected]], chosen by the [[Federal Parliament of Somalia]].

The office of the President of Somalia was established with the proclamation of the Republic of Somalia on 1 July 1960. The first president was [[Aden Abdullah Osman Daar]], and the 10th office is currently held by [[Hassan Sheikh Mohamud]].

==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 eight further people: [[Abdirashid Ali Shermarke]], [[Siad Barre|Mohamed Siad Barre]], [[Ali Mahdi Mohamed|Ali Mahdi]], [[Abdiqasim Salad Hassan|Abdiqasim Salad]], [[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed|Abdullahi Yusuf]], [[Sharif Sheikh Ahmed]], [[Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo]], and [[Hassan Sheikh Mohamud]]. In addition, [[Sheikh Mukhtar Mohamed Hussein|Sheikh Mukhtar]] acted as president between Shemarke's assassination and the [[1969 Somali coup d'état|coup d'état]], and Aden Madoobe acted as president after Yusuf's resignation in 2008.

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed took office on 31 January 2009, after being elected by the [[2009 Somali presidential election|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|federal government of Somalia]]. He was succeeded in office by General [[Muse Hassan Sheikh Sayid Abdulle|Muse Hassan]], who had been serving in an interim capacity.<ref name="Softsp">{{cite web|title=Office of the Somali Parliament|url=http://www.somaligov.net/The%20Parliament.html|publisher=Office of the Somali Parliament|access-date=24 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714005116/http://www.somaligov.net/The%20Parliament.html|archive-date=14 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office on 16 September 2012, after being elected by the [[2012 Somali presidential election|presidential election]] held on 10 September 2012.<ref name="Gsfpehsmap">{{cite news|title=Somalia Federal Parliament elects Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as President|url=http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_Federal_Parliament_elects_Hassan_Sheikh_Mohamud_as_President.shtml|access-date=10 September 2012|newspaper=Garowe Online|date=10 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913095606/http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_Federal_Parliament_elects_Hassan_Sheikh_Mohamud_as_President.shtml|archive-date=13 September 2012}}</ref>

==Qualifications and election==
To become the president of Somalia, the candidate must:<ref name=Constitution/>

(a) Be a Somali citizen and a Muslim;

(b) Be not less than forty years of age;

(c) Have relevant knowledge or experience for the role;

(d) Be sound of mind; and

(e) Not have been convicted by a court of a major crime.

The election of the president must begin at least 30 days before the incumbent president's term expires or 10 days after the presidency falls vacant and must be completed within 30 days of the beginning of the election. Candidates must be declared to the parliament's bureau within the first 10 days of this period, and elections must be completed within the remaining 20 days.

Formerly, the president was elected by the members of the Somali Parliament, requirements, and who are eligible to become members of Parliament.

==Term of office==
The president is selected for a term of office of four years. As of 2021, there are no term limits for the president in the [[Constitution of Somalia]].<ref name="termlimits">{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Candace |last2=Siegle |first2=Joseph |title=Circumvention of Term Limits Weakens Governance in Africa |url=https://africacenter.org/spotlight/circumvention-of-term-limits-weakens-governance-in-africa/ |website=Africa Center for Strategic Studies |access-date=2023-05-06 |archive-date=2023-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506143804/https://africacenter.org/spotlight/circumvention-of-term-limits-weakens-governance-in-africa/ |url-status=live }}</ref>  The term of office of the incumbent president continues until the president-elect takes office.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} On assuming office, the president takes the following oath before the parliament{{citation needed|date=February 2021}};

{{cquote|I swear in the name of Allah that I will perform my duties honestly and in the best interest of the Nation, People, and Religion and that I will abide by the Constitution and the other Laws of the Country.}}

==Duties and responsibilities==
An outline of the duties is as follows:<ref name=Constitution/>
* Appoint the [[List of Prime Ministers of Somalia|prime minister]],
* Serve as [[Commander in Chief|Commander-in-Chief]] of the [[Somali Armed Forces]];
* Declare a state of emergency and war under 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 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 following 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 of presidents of Somalia==
{{main|List of presidents of Somalia}}

==Latest election==
{{main|2022 Somali presidential election}}

==See also==
* [[Somalia]]
** [[Politics of Somalia]]
** [[Prime Minister of Somalia]]
** [[Vice President of Somalia]]
* [[Lists of office-holders]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Somalia topics}}
{{Presidents of Somalia}}
{{Heads of state and government of African states}}

[[Category:Presidents of Somalia| ]]
[[Category:Government of Somalia]]
[[Category:1960 establishments in Somalia]]