President names transitional prime minister

The president of Somalia's transitional federal government, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, on Wednesday named Prof Ali Muhammad Gedi as his new prime minister. The appointment was made 10 days ahead of a deadline set by the country's interim constitution for the president to name a prime minister.

Analysts described Gedi, the 51-year former professor of veterinary science "as a man who is not tainted by the civil war". Gedi is a member of the Abdgal sub-clan of the main Hawiye clan, from the capital, Mogadishu. He was a prominent member of the political arm of the United Somali Congress, one of the armed groups that overthrew former president Muhammad Siad Barre.

Over the last decade, he has been involved in creating a viable market for Somali livestock and served as the chairman of Somalia's NGO consortium.

Gedi's appointment was made after faction leader Muhammad Omar Habeb vacated his parliamentary seat in favor of Gedi to circumvent an article in the Somali interim constitution, which stipulates cabinet appointees must be members of parliament.

"I am optimistic that his appointment will be welcomed by Somalis, particularly those in the central and southern regions," Prof Abdirahman Ibbi, an MP, told IRIN on Thursday.

The appointment of the prime minister was likely to have a positive political impact in the south and in the capital, according to regional experts.

"He is young, well educated, and from Mogadishu and the region surrounding the city," Ibbi said. "There will be support for a native son."

Other Somali sources, however, insisted that whatever impact there was, "will not be felt immediately - like tomorrow or next week". Gedi's success or failure as prime minister would depend on "how well he works not only with the president, but also with parliament - and the quality of the cabinet he selects", Ibbi said.

According to the interim constitution, the new prime minister has 30 days to form a cabinet and then present it to parliament for approval.

Yusuf was sworn into office on 14 October after Somalia's 275-member transitional parliament elected him in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to lead the Horn of Africa country that has been divided into fiefdoms ruled by rival warlords since 1991 when Barre was ousted.