Federal government: ministries and agencies
Somalia's federal government: the President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers
Somalia's federal government is led by a President, chosen by parliament, and a Prime Minister who heads the Council of Ministers. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been President since May 2022 and Hamza Abdi Barre Prime Minister since June 2022. The Council of Ministers runs about 26 ministries, prepares the budget and drafts laws.
How the federal executive is built
Somalia has a President as head of state and a Prime Minister as head of government. The President is chosen by the two houses of parliament. The Prime Minister leads the Council of Ministers, which holds the executive power of the federal government (Provisional Constitution 2012, Article 97, via Constitute Project).
The 2024 amendments let the President both appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and cabinet still need the confidence of the House of the People. Parliament kept this split rather than a system where the President also heads the government (ConstitutionNet, International IDEA, 7 April 2026). The March 2026 amendments kept the President chosen by parliament (same source).
What the President does
Under the 2012 constitution the President (Article 90):
- Appoints the Prime Minister.
- Signs laws passed by parliament so they take effect.
- Is commander in chief of the armed forces and declares a state of emergency or war under the law.
- Appoints judges, senior officials, heads of federal institutions and ambassadors, on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers or the judicial oversight body.
- Opens the House of the People and addresses it once a year.
- Receives foreign diplomats and confers state honours.
The President's office is Villa Somalia in Mogadishu.
What the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers do
The Council of Ministers is the highest executive body. It is made up of the Prime Minister, deputy prime ministers, ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers (Article 97). It (Article 99):
- Sets government policy and carries it out.
- Prepares draft laws and sends them to the House of the People.
- Prepares the annual budget and the final accounts.
- Sets the national development plan. The current plan is the National Transformation Plan; see the National Transformation Plan.
- Appoints and dismisses senior public officials and proposes ambassadors.
Rules for members: the Prime Minister must be at least 40 and ministers at least 30, and all must have a university education. While in office they may not run a private business, buy or rent government property, or sell or rent their own to the government (Article 98).
Size: the Council of Ministers named in August 2022 had 75 members: 26 cabinet ministers, 24 state ministers and 25 deputy ministers (Hiiraan Online, August 2022). In June 2026 the Prime Minister named Abdisalan Abdi Ali as a second Deputy Prime Minister, alongside Salah Ahmed Jama (Garowe Online, June 2026).
The ministries
The federal cabinet ministries listed in 2025 were (CIA, World Leaders: Somalia, updated August 2025):
- Agriculture and Irrigation
- Defence
- Education and Higher Education
- Endowments and Religion
- Energy and Water
- Environment and Climate Change
- Finance
- Fisheries and Maritime Resources
- Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
- Health
- Information
- Interior
- Internal Security
- Justice and Constitution
- Labour and Social Affairs
- Livestock
- Petroleum and Mineral Resources
- Planning and Investment
- Ports and Transport
- Posts and Communications
- Public Works and Housing
- Trade and Industry
- Transport and Civil Aviation
- Women and Human Rights
- Youth and Sports
The full official names are longer; for example, the Ministry of Education's full name is the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024). Ministers change often in reshuffles. The Office of the Prime Minister publishes the current list (Office of the Prime Minister).
Presidents since 1960
- Aden Abdulle Osman, 1960 to 1967
- Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, 1967 to 1969
- Mohamed Siad Barre, 1969 to 1991
- Abdiqasim Salad Hassan, 2000 to 2004 (Transitional National Government)
- Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, 2004 to 2008 (Transitional Federal Government)
- Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, 2009 to 2012
- Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, 2012 to 2017
- Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmaajo), 2017 to 2022
- Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, from 15 May 2022
Source: List of presidents of Somalia, Wikipedia. For the history of each period, see the civilian era, 1960 to 1969 and the Siad Barre era.
In the news, November 2026
Opposition groups say the terms of the President, parliament and government ended in 2026. Five judges of the Supreme Court's Constitutional Division ruled the same in early November 2026; the Attorney General's office said the ruling had no legal effect (Dawan Africa, November 2026). See Somalia's courts.
How to use it
- Services: most services people need, such as passports, ID cards and birth records, are run by federal agencies under these ministries. See Somali passport, National ID (NIRA) and Birth records.
- Statements and decisions: the Council of Ministers meets weekly, usually on Thursdays, and its decisions are published by the Office of the Prime Minister and the state news agency SONNA (SONNA).
Its legal basis
Chapter 7 of the 2012 Provisional Constitution (Articles 87 to 104), as amended on 30 March 2024 and 4 March 2026.
Sources
- Provisional Constitution 2012, Article 97, via Constitute Project · constituteproject.org
- ConstitutionNet, International IDEA, 7 April 2026 · constitutionnet.org
- Hiiraan Online, August 2022 · hiiraan.org
- Garowe Online, June 2026 · garoweonline.com
- CIA, World Leaders: Somalia, updated August 2025 · cia.gov
- SNBS, Facts and Figures 2024 · nbs.gov.so
- Office of the Prime Minister · opm.gov.so
- List of presidents of Somalia, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Dawan Africa, November 2026 · dawan.africa
- SONNA · sonna.so
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Keep reading
- Every federal government body in Somalia and its budget, 2025 to 2027A directory of every body in Somalia's federal budget: ministries, agencies, courts, commissions and security forces, with 2025 spending, 2026 budget and 2027 proposed budget in US dollars, and a CSV download.
- The Federal Government of Somalia: how it is organisedHow 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.
- Ministry of Education of Somalia (Wasaaradda Waxbarashada): what it doesWhat Somalia's federal education ministry does: curriculum, national exams, teachers, school counts and higher education, how it shares the work with the member states, and the separate ministries in Puntland and Somaliland.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somalia (Wasaaradda Arrimaha Dibadda): embassies and diplomacyWhat Somalia's foreign ministry does, who leads it, where Somalia has embassies, the main issues in 2024 to 2026, and what Somalis abroad can get from an embassy.
- Ministry of Health of Somalia (Wasaaradda Caafimaadka): what it doesWhat Somalia's federal health ministry does: policy, vaccines, medicines, coordination of aid; who leads it; its budget 2025 to 2027; what it reports doing in 2026; and how the work is shared with Puntland, Somaliland and the member states.
- Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation of Somalia (Wasaaradda Arrimaha Gudaha)What Somalia's interior and federal affairs ministry does: relations with the member states, local councils, reconciliation and local elections, with the Banadir council vote of 2025 to 2026.