Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: Who is Somalia’s new leader?

Somalia’s new President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, is not new to the job. He served as Somalia’s eighth President from 2012 to 2017 and lost the election in 2017 to the outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo”.

He made history on Sunday by becoming president in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation for the second time, in the most competitive election in the country’s history, which went into a third round of voting.

Following three decades of conflict, the country remains too dangerous for a one-person, one-vote election, so he was chosen by MPs, who were themselves chosen by clan elders from around the country.

With a background in education, the former peace activist’s election campaign was focused on ensuring Somalis are united and are at peace with the rest of the world – something he did not fail to mention immediately after he was sworn in early on Monday morning.

“I promise you that we will closely work with regional states and our international partners,” he said.

His tone sounded reconciliatory and he promised the Somali people that he would work for everyone.

In the end, he won a huge majority in the third-round ballot, with 214 votes against Mr Farmajo’s 110, gaining revenge against the man who beat him in 2017.

Mr Mohamud spent most of the last two years in Mogadishu, campaigning for the elections to be held on time and as promised.