Introduction
The Federal Republic of Somalia does not exist as a unified state these days. The Federal Government of Somalia has power in a name. The country broke up into many self-governing enclaves, among which two self-declared states Somaliland and Puntland stand out. The internal Somali conflict has become a central event in the modern political history of Somalia. The charge of disagreement has been maintained at a high level, creating a constant threat to the entire security system of the Horn of Africa. The danger lies in the fact that in the conditions of chaos in all spheres of public life and the lack of a foundation for restoring the public administration system, such a conflict can last forever.
Due to this severe condition, it is essential to have a great country’s leader who will improve the life of society and populations of Somalia. The stable government and the president’s figure may play a crucial role in the restoration of the national spirit. This leads to the importance of decision-making: who should become the next president of Somalia? Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheyre is a great politician who has already achieved significant results in the number of fields, including the restoration of the army, measures to prevent corruption, and fighting with terrorism. Moreover, the most critical element is that he has his vision of the country, which should unite the nation and raise a sense of national identity, making Somalis start to improve the country by themselves.
Somali Civil War
There are several reasons for the Somali Civil War, which began in 1988 and led to the state’s collapse. Unlike most African states, the country is almost entirely mono-ethnic and completely mono confessional. Somali clan society structure had a decisive influence on forming the political process even before the country gained independence on June 26, 1960 (Hassig et al., 2017). In Somalia, the clashes between clans led to a fierce civil war, which, heating up and dying away, has been going on for more than thirty years. Some clan groups have been fighting for dominance of power in the country; some have been focusing on protecting enclaves controlled by them. Since the mid-1990s, the new force presented by Sharia trials, and the mid-2000s — Islamist groups joined the conflict.
The Somali issue has long been one of the most critical problems for the United Nations. This organization takes a specific position in the necessity to stop any hostilities and restore state institutions and the country’s integrity. In 1992-1995 the United Nations, along with the United States, conducted two humanitarian assistance operations for the Somali people, United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) and United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) (Hassig et al., 2017). However, the UN failed to resolve the Somali problem. The role of other organizations was overall equally unsuccessful involved in determining the internal Somali conflict – African Union (AU), League of Arab States (LAS), The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) uniting all countries of the Horn of Africa, Somalia International Contact Group.
As of 2020, the federal government of Somalia does not have full control over the territories, and armed conflicts continue between the regional clans, criminal groups, and religious fundamentalists, especially with the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. Furthermore, the humanitarian situation in Somalia remains exceptionally fragile. It is accompanied by constant outbreaks of hunger, increasing epidemics of acute watery diarrhea (ATS) and cholera, and an increase in the number of internal refugees. The country’s humanitarian crisis’s main components are the ongoing political crisis, the lack of public access to necessities and services, ongoing internal conflicts, low levels of security, and climate issues.
Biography of Hassan Ali Khayre
Hassan Ali Khayre is a Somali statesman and politician. On February 23, 2017, he was nominated as Prime Minister by the President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, and unanimously approved by Parliament on March 1, 2017. Hassan Ali Haire previously worked in the oil industry, was the Norwegian Refugee Council charity’s regional director, and served as head of the British oil company Soma Oil & Gas.
Hassan Ali Khayre was born in the village of Jacar, Galgaduud Province, located about fifty kilometers from El Buur, in the Hawiye clan. In 1991, fleeing the Civil War, Hassan Ali Hayre moved to live in Norway, where he entered the University of Oslo in 1994 (Ibrahim, 2017). Hassan Ali Khayre has dual citizenship – Norway and Somalia. Norwegian laws prohibit dual citizenship. However, an exception has been made for Somalis. Like many of his compatriots, Hassan Ali Khayre took advantage of the right to keep a Somali passport upon receipt of a Norwegian one. In 1998, he graduated from the University with a diploma in political science and sociology and then continued his studies at Edinburgh Business School and Heriot-Watt University (Ibrahim, 2017). He returned to Oslo, where he joined the Norwegian Refugee Council (Ibrahim, 2017). Then he was engaged in private business, but in 2006 he returned to the Norwegian Refugee Council as a regional manager, where he worked for another nine years.
On February 23, 2017, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed tweeted about Hassan Ali Khayre as the country’s prime minister (Ibrahim, 2017). Before he was appointed prime minister, he had never held public office, although he had contacts with senior leaders and government officials throughout his career. At a meeting held on March 1, 2017, parliament members approved the appointment of Haira as prime minister by a majority vote (Buchanan, 2017). On March 21, 2017, Hassan Ali Hayre thanked the parliamentarians for their support and submitted his candidacy to the Cabinet of Ministers of Somalia, approved by the Parliament on March 29, 2017 (Buchanan, 2017). He promised to tackle corruption and bring justice to those abusing their official position. He also noted that the country’s leadership’s focus should be strengthening security and conducting large-scale reforms.
Vision of the Country
The first and most important quality of the future president is the clear perception of the country’s future development. The second is that he or she must be able to captivate and inspire people with this dream. It will allow him or her to lead them, transforming a vision into an idea in cooperation. The last characteristic is to have respect for promises: words should not be at odds with actions. Hassan Ali Khayre has already demonstrated the outstanding features necessary for a national leader due to the provided reforms and improvements in Somalia’s society.
His Ability of Being a Great Speaker
The politician’s speech can be called the essential tool of his professional activity. It is a means of propaganda and defense of the political position, struggle with political opponents and persuasion of the masses. Intelligence, political foresight, erudition, and experience are all critical and necessary for a politician, but these qualities are ultimately expressed in an expert’s speech on political questions. All outstanding politicians have reached their heights due to the ability to convince, inspire confidence in their righteousness, and arouse enthusiasm and trust and listeners’ location, especially voters. The media allows millions of people to stay up-to-date with events and, consequently, has affected the quality of a political figure’s speech. The Prime Minister says that global society should see new Somalia. According to him, the world has to look through a fresh lens and recognize Somalia’s new generation that tries its best to make the future better (TRT World, 2017). Therefore, in his various speeches, he highlights this central idea.
Accomplishments
With the international community’s assistance, the new federal authorities in Somalia, especially the current Prime Minister Hassan Khayre, have managed to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in the country, achieve notable political transformations, and improve relations with local authorities. Compared to many new governments that have recently come to power, the Somali Prime Minister has had a challenging journey. Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties, the politician succeeded in developing a commendable national plan, including financial reform, job creation, political engagement, conflict resolution, and security sector reform. At the same time, Somalis still face a range of complex political and humanitarian issues and serious security threats. The terrorist group Al-Shabab remains a severe menace for the country, although it has been weakened. Illicit financial flows are being blocked in the country; counter-terrorism operations and airstrikes are being carried out.
Terrorist Attacks
Terrorism remains the most aggravated problem in Somalia. The Prime Minister recognizes the fight against it on the agenda. He claims that the world should realize new Somalia as a nation that can defeat terrorism. The national plan is to beat it everywhere, starting from the point of ideology and ending with military actions. He focuses on the fact that the whole community of Somalia has a desire to defeat terrorism on every front.
On October 14, 2017, a double attack occurred in Somalia, Mogadishu, when two mined cars exploded. The explosion victims were 587 people; several hundred civilians had injuries of varying severity (Mohamed et al., 2017). The Somali authorities accused the radical Al-Shaab group, which conducted an armed struggle against the central government and had counted dozens of terrorist attacks. This violation became the largest in the last decade, not only in Somalia but also on the whole African continent. The UN called the attacks unprecedented, and the Somali government declared it a national catastrophe (Mohamed et al., 2017). President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed announced 3-day national mourning. Then, in 2019 another terrorist crime in Mogadishu occurred when a suicide attacker blew up a truck full of explosives at a police checkpoint, killing at least 91 people (Dahir et al., 2019). Immediately after the explosion, no one claimed responsibility for the attack. This aggression became the deadliest in Somalia in the last two years, after the bombings in Mogadishu in 2017, which killed 587 people (Dahir et al., 2019).
Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre has announced the creation of a national response committee to assist victims and support those who have lost family members due to the attack. The radical Islamists from Al-Shabaab previously organized similar bombings in the capital. Nevertheless, terrorists took responsibility for the attack. Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency have made a statement that an unnamed foreign country helped organize a terror incident. The Somali government plans to request assistance from international intelligence services.
Putting Somalia in the World Stage after Decades of Civil War
Most of the Civil War, Somalia has been isolated from the rest of the world. Hassan Ali Khayre emphasizes the importance of bilateral relations. He claimed that the Somalian citizens were very grateful for the relationship they had (TRT World, 2017). Moreover, he started representing the state at various global venues and summits, such as the World Economic Forum, where Hassan Ali Khayre discussed the business issues, Paris Peace Forum, the Davos Economic Forum, and the UN General Assembly.
The most prominent example is the help received after the accident which occurred in the country’s central part when approximately 400 thousand people suffered from a natural disaster. Somalia’s Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khayre, called on the international community to help the country with the Shabelle and Juba rivers’ flood. Somalia asked for urgent assistance to various community groups: religious leaders, women, parliament members, and regional humanitarian agencies. The Government also formed an emergency group of 22 commissioners to help populations suffering from flooding and prevent a natural disaster from becoming a humanitarian disaster (United Nations, 2020). Peacekeeping teams from the African Union Mission in Somalia also participated in rescue operations.
In partnership with the Turkish government, the Somali government has launched local infrastructure development projects and initiated several charitable projects. Turkey’s foreign minister noted that they would always support Somalia and wished the people recovery from the war. Turkey will continue to provide support to Somalia, as it has done so far, intending to establish peace and stability in this country as soon as possible. Moreover, this year Turkey sent a consignment of cargo with medical assistance to Somalia to fight the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19). All these facts prove that the efforts of restoring relationships with other countries bring positive outcomes for Somalia.
Fighting Corruption
However, the security situation in Somalia remains dire. The country’s authorities have achieved some success and were able to take measures to create a stable state system. Still, the government needs to fight terrorism, extremist organizations, and corruption. Corruption is a phenomenon that undermines reform efforts and limits Somalis’ confidence in their leaders and institutions. The devastating consequences of bribery are visible in all spheres of public life: from business to politics, from the judiciary to the security organs. The prime minister’s activities are marked by attempts to actively fight corruption and make the Cabinet of Ministers transparent and constructive interaction with the African Union and AMISOM.
Eliminating the Debt
The Paris Club states have decided to waive Somalia for 67 percent of the country’s external debt, which is about $ 1.4 billion (Shalal & Thomas, 2020). The Paris Club is an unofficial intergovernmental organization of developed countries that provide loans to other countries. At present, the main goal of the club is to restructure the external debt of developing countries. Currently, the Paris Club includes 20 states (Shalal & Thomas, 2020). According to the Minister of Finance of Somalia Abdirahman Beile, this accomplishment was achieved through the prime minister’s productive dialogue with the Paris Club. The Somali government has intentions to hold bilateral discussions with each of the creditors.
Army
The war complicated the international situation of Somalia, which, having lost support from outside, was forced to withdraw its troops from Ogaden, having lost half of its air force in battles. Somalia never recovered from this defeat and soon plunged into a civil war abyss that continues today. The Somali Air Force was last used against insurgents, but with Mogadishu’s fall in 1991, the Air Force ceased to exist (Hassig et al., 2017). However, the Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khayre, has started rebuilding the national army. This process has already begun to bring several benefits to the current state of the country. Due to the army reconstruction, Somalia regained control over a critical city in the south. The Somali army successfully repelled attacks by the Al-Shabab group on two military bases. The military groups managed to restore power in the area.
Other accomplishments made by the current Prime Minister are bringing back Somalia prisoners from overseas, rebuilding the national monuments such as the National Theatre and National football stadium. Hassan Ali Khayre focuses on the idea that united efforts can be beneficial. Regarding the young people, he says that the future depends on the involvement of fresh blood into the country’s central institutions, for example, leading the military and government. The more significant the role and responsibility of young people in governing the state, the more the project will meet young people’s interests, and the more active the country’s experience will be. Attracting young people to public service is one of the essential tasks that allows public organizations to solve many problems: the rejuvenation of the aging workforce, the introduction of the latest approaches to the public administration system, a fresh look at professional activity, and high motivation for changes.
Conclusion
The crisis in Somalia has become one of the most difficult and protracted in the world. This is due to armed conflicts, constant violence, and natural disasters, including severe droughts. Politics is difficult to carry out if society does not trust the authorities when the latter is not confident in the people – classes, groups, community, which it should lead. When people look back into the past, they find very few talented politicians. The country’s president is required to rally the interests of a broad public power base. The most crucial factor is the leader’s ability to formulate general political demands, reveal high critical and constructive, creative qualities, and communicate with a broad audience. The beginning of national reconciliation in Somalia is entering a new challenging phase. For the first time since the early 1990s, its ongoing fragile process gives Somalis a real chance to begin rebuilding their country in peace.
At the federal level, Somalia is currently preparing for the general elections to be held in 2020-2021. At this time, the president’s reliable power is especially important, a new round of reforms, which can improve the country’s situation and give hope to its population for the revival of the nation and peaceful life. The new president’s success on the complicated path of restoring statehood will largely depend on the solution of strategic tasks, which are the fight against terrorism and corruption. Hassan Ali Khayre used to be considered the Prime Minister, who thinks and appreciates his country and its people, concerning Somalis’ problems and difficulties every day. This is the reason why he can be called the best Prime Minister of the history of Somalia. He might become the great president if he chooses to run for president as the tendency, the reforms, and his country’s vision have brought positive consequences for Somalia.
References
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Dahir, A., L., Mohamed, H., & Schmitt E. (2019). Somalia Bombing Kills Nearly 80, Raising Fears of Resurgent Militancy. Web.
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Ibrahim, M. (2017). Hassan Ali Khaire, an Oil Executive, Is Picked to Be Somalia’s Prime Minister. Web.
Mohamed, H., Schmitt, E., & Ibrahim, M. (2017). Mogadishu Truck Bombings Are Deadliest Attack in Decades. Web.
Shalal, A., & Thomas, L. (2020). Paris Club creditors agree to cancel $1.4 billion of Somali debt. Web.
Somalia: Humanitarian response to assist 3 million people in 2020. United Nations. Web.
TRT World (2017). One on One: Hassan Ali Khayre, Prime Minister of Somalia [Video]. YouTube. Web.