Military

DATE=11/3/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=SOMALIA/POLITICS (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-320151

BYLINE=CATHY MAJTENYTI

DATELINE=NAIROBI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

HEADLINE: Somalia Has New Prime Minister

INTRO: The president of Somalia has named his government's new Prime Minister. Cathy Majtenyi reports from Nairobi.

TEXT: Somalia's new Prime Minister is Ali Mohamed Ghedi, a Member of Parliament from the capital, Mogadishu.

Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed announced the appointment at a news conference in Nairobi.

President Yusuf told reporters he considered a number of candidates and held many consultations before selecting Mr. Ghedi.

The new Prime minister said he was honored to be chosen and would do his best to form, what he called, a government of reconciliation.

/// GHEDI ACT IN SOMALI; TRANSLATION:///

"The government that I will form will be a government of reconciliation, a government of reconstruction, (a) government that will have a very good relationship with this sub-region, internationally, and regionally."

/// END ACT ///

According to the new constitution, Mr. Ghedi has one month to select the ministers of Somalia's cabinet. He told reporters he would work hard to meet his deadline and consult with many people before making his decision.

Fifty-one-year-old Mr. Ghedi is a veterinarian from Mogadishu. He is a member of one of Somalia's largest clans, the Hawiye clan, and does not belong to any political faction.

President Yusuf, a professional soldier and a member of the Darood clan, was sworn into office last month.

The formation of Somalia's new government is the culmination of a two-year peace process conducted in Kenya, where 23 factional leaders, civil society representatives, traditional elders, and others came together to write a new charter for the country and pick a new government.

Somalia fell into anarchy after Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. Since then, groups based on clan and sub-clan affiliations have controlled different parts of the country through the strength of their militias, with no central government to provide law, order, and resources to the people.

Somalia's new government is expected to return to Somalia during the next couple of months. (SIGNED)

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