e - 26 June
(1960) in Somaliland

Constitution:

25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979
note: the formation of transitional governing institutions, known as
the Transitional Federal Government, is currently ongoing

Legal system:

no national system; a mixture of English common law, Italian law,
Islamic Sharia, and Somali customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: Transitional Federal President Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed
(since 14 October 2004); note - a transitional governing entity with
a five-year mandate, known as the Transitional Federal Institutions
(TFIs), was established in October 2004; the TFIs relocated to
Somalia in June 2004
head of government: Prime Minister Nur "Adde" HASSAN Hussein (since
24 November 2007)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by the
Transitional Federal Assembly
election results: Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed, the former leader of the
semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia, was elected president by
the Transitional Federal Assembly

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Assembly
note: unicameral Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) (275 seats; 244
members appointed by the four major clans (61 for each clan), 31
seats allocated to smaller clans and subclans)

Judicial branch:

following the breakdown of the central government, most regions have
reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular,
traditional Somali customary law, or Sharia (Islamic) law with a
provision for appeal of all sentences

Political parties and leaders:

none

Political pressure groups and leaders:

other: numerous clan and sub-clan factions exist both in support and
in opposition to the transitional government

International organization participation:

ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU,
ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

Somalia does not have an embassy in the US (ceased operations on 8
May 1991); note - the TFG is represented in the United States
through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations

Diplomatic representation from the US:

the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are
represented by the US Em