# The Federal Government of Somalia: how it is organised > How Somalia's federal government is built: its history since 2012, its branches, ministries, agencies and independent offices, how it relates to the member states, its staff and budget, and where to find each part. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/federal-government-of-somalia/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## What it is The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) is the internationally recognised government of Somalia, based in Mogadishu. It replaced the [Transitional Federal Government](/en/history/transitional-governments-2000-2012/) (TFG) on 20 August 2012, when the Provisional Constitution came into use. Somalia's official name since then is the Federal Republic of Somalia ([Federal Government of Somalia, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Government_of_Somalia); [Provisional Constitution 2012, via Constitute Project](https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Somalia_2012)). ## How it came about - **1991:** the central government of the [Somali Democratic Republic](/en/history/somali-democratic-republic-1969-1991/) collapsed. - **2000:** the Transitional National Government was formed at a conference in Arta, Djibouti, under [Abdiqasim Salad Hassan](/en/people/abdiqasim-salad-hassan/). - **2004:** the Transitional Federal Government was formed in Kenya under [Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed](/en/people/abdullahi-yusuf-ahmed/). - **2009:** [Sharif Sheikh Ahmed](/en/people/sharif-sheikh-ahmed/) became TFG president after a UN-brokered agreement. - **22 June 2012:** leaders agreed the text of the Provisional Constitution; a National Constituent Assembly adopted it on 1 August 2012. - **20 August 2012:** the TFG's mandate ended and the Federal Government began. [Hassan Sheikh Mohamud](/en/people/hassan-sheikh-mohamud/) was elected its first President in September 2012. Sources: [Federal Government of Somalia, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Government_of_Somalia); [Constitute Project](https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Somalia_2012). ## The branches | Part | What it does | Page | |---|---|---| | President | Head of state; appoints the Prime Minister | [President and Council of Ministers](/en/institutions/president-and-council-of-ministers/) | | Prime Minister and Council of Ministers | Runs the ministries, drafts laws and the budget | [President and Council of Ministers](/en/institutions/president-and-council-of-ministers/) | | Federal Parliament | House of the People (275 seats) and Upper House (54 seats); passes laws, approves the budget | [Federal Parliament](/en/institutions/federal-parliament/) | | Courts | Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, federal and state courts | [Somalia's courts](/en/institutions/courts-and-judiciary/) | | Independent offices | Attorney General, Auditor General, Central Bank | [Attorney General](/en/institutions/attorney-general/), [Auditor General](/en/institutions/auditor-general/), [Central Bank](/en/economy/central-bank-of-somalia/) | | Independent commissions | Elections, human rights, anti-corruption, boundaries, civil service and others | [Independent commissions](/en/institutions/independent-commissions/) | The constitution changes of 30 March 2024 let the President appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister. The changes of 4 March 2026 set five-year terms and created a Supreme Judicial Council. A referendum on the full constitution is still pending ([Somalia's courts](/en/institutions/courts-and-judiciary/)). ## Ministries The cabinet has about 25 ministries, from Agriculture and Irrigation to Youth and Sports. The full list is on the [President and Council of Ministers](/en/institutions/president-and-council-of-ministers/) page. Ministers change in reshuffles, and the Office of the Prime Minister publishes the current list ([Office of the Prime Minister](https://opm.gov.so/)). ## Agencies and bodies Federal agencies with their own pages on this site: - **Somali National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS):** censuses, surveys and official numbers. [Page](/en/institutions/national-bureau-of-statistics/) - **Somalia Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA):** droughts, floods and emergency aid. [Page](/en/institutions/disaster-management-agency/) - **National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA):** set up in March 2023 to issue national ID numbers. [Page](/en/states/national-id-nira/) - **Immigration and passports.** [Page](/en/states/somali-passport/) - **State media:** SONNA, Radio Mogadishu and SNTV. [Page](/en/institutions/state-media/) - **Ports and the national airline.** [Ports](/en/economy/ports/), [Somali Airlines](/en/economy/somali-airlines/) - **Telecoms regulation:** the National Communications Authority. [Page](/en/economy/telecoms/) - **Security forces:** the [Somali National Army](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/), the [Somali Police Force](/en/institutions/somali-police-force/) and the [National Intelligence and Security Agency](/en/institutions/nisa/) (NISA) come under the Ministries of Defence and Internal Security. ## Staff and money - **Civil servants:** 5,751 in the federal civil service count published by the statistics bureau, 1,488 of them women ([SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024, Table 2.23](https://nbs.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Facts-and-figures-2024.pdf)). The federal payroll at the end of 2025 held 23,573 civilian staff ([Government jobs and pay](/en/economy/government-jobs-and-pay/)). The two counts measure different groups. - **Budget:** about $1.39 billion for 2026. In 2025 the government raised $404 million itself, mostly from taxes on trade, and received $516 million in donor grants ([Budget and taxes](/en/economy/budget-and-taxes/)). ## The federal government and the states Under the constitution Somalia is a federation. The federal government shares power with six federal member states, [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/), Jubaland, South West, [Galmudug](/en/states/galmudug/), [Hirshabelle](/en/states/hirshabelle/) and [North Eastern State](/en/states/north-eastern-state/), plus the Banadir regional administration in Mogadishu ([Federal member states](/en/states/federal-member-states/)). Each state has its own president, parliament and constitution. - **Puntland** has not recognised the federal government's authority since 31 March 2024. See [Puntland's institutions](/en/institutions/puntland-institutions/). - **Jubaland** suspended ties after its November 2024 regional vote. See [Jubaland](/en/states/jubaland/). - **[Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/)** declared independence in 1991. Israel recognised it on 26 December 2025, and most states and the African Union regard it as part of Somalia. See [Somaliland's institutions](/en/institutions/somaliland-institutions/). ## In November 2026 Early in November 2026, five judges of the Supreme Court's Constitutional Division ruled that the terms of the President, parliament and federal government had ended. The Attorney General's office said the ruling had no legal effect, and a new Chief Justice was sworn in on 7 November 2026 ([Dawan Africa, November 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-swears-in-new-supreme-court-chief-amid-dispute-over-governments-term)). The UN's political mission closed on 31 October 2026; see [International bodies in Somalia](/en/institutions/international-bodies-in-somalia/). ## How to use it - **Find a ministry:** most ministries have a website ending in .gov.so; the Office of the Prime Minister lists them. - **Official decisions:** the cabinet's decisions are published by the Office of the Prime Minister and by SONNA. - **Documents:** for an ID card, passport or birth record, see the NIRA, passport and [birth records](/en/states/birth-records/) pages. ## Its legal basis The Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia, adopted 1 August 2012 and amended on 30 March 2024 and 4 March 2026. --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.