Government & politics — Somalia
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for Somalia: Federal Republic of Somalia
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Federal Republic of Somalia
- Country Name
Somalia
- Local - Long
Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya (Somali)/ Jumhuriyat as Sumal al Fidiraliyah (Arabic)
- Local - Short
Soomaaliya (Somali)/ As Sumal (Arabic)
- Former Name
British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic
- Etymology- history of name
"Land of the Somali" (ethnic group)
- Independence
1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic)
- National Holiday
Foundation of the Somali Republic, 1 July (1960); note - 26 June (1960) in Somaliland
Political system
- Government Type
federal parliamentary republic
- Constitution
- history: previous 1961, 1979; latest drafted 12 June 2012,
- adopted 1 August 2012 (provisional) amendments: proposed by the federal government, by members of the state governments, the Federal Parliament, or by public petition; proposals require review by a joint committee of Parliament with inclusion of public comments and state legislatures’ comments; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Parliament and approval by a majority of votes cast in a referendum; constitutional clauses on Islamic principles, the federal system, human rights and freedoms, powers and authorities of the government branches, and inclusion of women in national institutions cannot be amended; amended 2024
- Legal System:
mixed legal system of civil law, Islamic (sharia) law, and customary law (referred to as Xeer)
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: President
- Prime Minister Hamza Abdi BARRE (since 25 June 2022) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister,
- approved by the House of the People elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament by two-thirds majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 4-year term; election last held on 15 May 2022 (next to be held in 2026); prime minister appointed by the president,
- approved by the House of the People election results: 2022: HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud elected president in third round - Federal Parliament percent of vote in first round - Said ABDULLAHI DENI (Kaah) 20.2%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (TPP) 18.3%, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 16.2%, Hassan Ali KHAYRE (independent) 14.6%, other 30.7%; Federal Parliament percent of vote in second round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 34.1%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 25.7%, Said ABDULLAHI DENI 21%, Hassan Ali KHAYRE 19.2%; Federal Parliament percent of vote in third round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 66%, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 34% 2017: Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" elected president in second round; Federal Parliament number of votes in first round - HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud (PDP) 88, Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" (TPP) 72, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed (ARS) 49, other 37; Federal Parliament number of votes in second round - Mohamed ABDULLAHI Mohamed "Farmaajo" 184, HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud 97, Sheikh SHARIF Sheikh Ahmed 45
- Legislative Branch:
Description
bicameral Federal Parliament to consist of: Senate (54 seats; senators indirectly elected by state assemblies to serve 4-year terms) House of the People (275 seats; members indirectly elected by electoral colleges, each consisting of 51 delegates selected by the 136 Traditional Elders in consultation with sub-clan elders; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections
- Senate - first held on 10 October 2016
- last held 27 July - 13 November 2021 (next to be held in 2024) House of the People - first held 23 October - 10 November 2016 (next scheduled for September - October 2021 but postponed to November 2021 and then extended several times until April 2022
- next to be held in June 2024)
Election Results
- - Senate - percent of vote by party - NA
- seats by party - NA
- composition as of February 2024 - men 40, women 14, percentage women 25.9% House of the People - percent of vote by party - NA
- seats by party - NA
- composition as of February 2024 - men 221, women 54, percentage women 19.6%
- total Federal Parliament percentage women 20.7% note 1: the inaugural House of the People was appointed in September 2012 by clan elders
- in 2016 and 2017, the Federal Parliament became bicameral with indirect elections scheduled for 10 October 2016 for the Upper House - renamed 'Senate' and 23 October to 10 November 2016 for the House of the People
- while the elections were delayed, they were eventually held in most regions despite voting irregularities
- on 27 December 2016, 41 Upper House senators and 242 House of the People Members of Parliament were sworn in note 2: despite the formation of political parties in 2020, the 2021 parliamentary elections maintained a primarily clan-based system of appointments
- seats in the legislature were apportioned to Somali member states and not by party representation
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): the provisional constitution stipulates the establishment of the Constitutional Court (consists of 5 judges, including the chief judge and deputy chief judge); note - under the terms of the 2004 Transitional National Charter, a Supreme Court based in Mogadishu and the Appeal Court were established; yet most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law,
- or Islamic law judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president upon proposal of the Judicial Service Commission, a 9-member judicial and administrative body;
- judge tenure NA subordinate courts: federal courts; federal member state-level courts; military courts; sharia courts
- Regions or States:
18 regions (plural - gobollo, singular - gobol); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Jubba), Jubbada Hoose (Lower Jubba), Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe (Middle Shabeelle), Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabeelle), Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- select National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) approved parties (as of 2020): Cosmopolitan Democratic Party [Yarow Sharef ADEN]
- Green Party [Ahmed HAJI]
- Himilo Qaran Party [Sharif SHEIKH AHMED]
- Ilays Party [Abdulkadir OSOBLE]
- Justice and Reconciliation Party National Progressive Party Peace and Unity Party [Asha ABDALLA]
- Qaransoor Party [Abdijabaar SHEIKH AHMED]
- Qiimo Qaran Party Security and Justice Party Social Justice Party [Mohamed NUR, chairman]
- Somali Labour Party[Ali Mohamed APOLLO, chairman]
- Somali Republic Party [Abdinur Ahmed DARMAN, chairman]
- Somali Social Unity Party or SSUP [Yaasiin Maaxi MACALIN]
- Union for Peace and Development Party or PDP [HASSAN SHEIKH Mohamud]
- Wadajir Party [Abdirahman Abdishakur WARSAME]
- Note: in 2017 an independent electoral commission (the NIEC) was inaugurated with a mandate to oversee the process of registration of political parties in the country; as of 2021, the NIEC had registered a total of 110 parties
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal suffrage starting with 24 June 2024 local elections
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: the fa
- no residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Mogadishu
- Capital - geographic coordinate
2 04 N, 45 20 E
- Capital Time Difference
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
International role
- International Organization Participation:
ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU (candidate), EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO
- International Law Organization Participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
chief of mission
Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Shane L. DIXON (since 25 July 2023) embassy: Mogadishu, (reopened October 2019 on the grounds of the Mogadishu Airport) mailing address: P.O. Box 606 Village Market 00621 Nairobi, Kenya
telephone
[254] 20 363-6451
Email address and website
- SomaliaPublicAffairs@state.gov
- https://so.usembassy.gov/
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Ali Sharif AHMED (since 16 September 2019)
chancery
1609 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone
[1] (202) 853-9164
Email address and website
- info@somaliembassydc.net
- https://somaliembassydc.net/