In principle, the Transitional National Charter, which gave rise to the TNG, recognized de facto regional autonomy and the existence of new entities in the north of the former Somalia, home to relatively homogenous clans. In some parts of Somalia, however, decentralization meant state authority disintegrated.[2]
According to Le Sage, the TNG in 2002 had all of the organs of a national government, including executive and judicial structures as well as a parliament, a police force and standing army. However, its institutions remained very weak on account of a dearth of basic office equipment, lack of territorial control, and inability to raise tax revenue. Due to these limitations, the TNG was unable to provide basic social services. Ministers and legislators also often expressed frustration at being shut out of the real decision-making process, and of often receiving irregular and limited salaries. As such, Le Sage argues that the public officials served more as symbols of the potential for a broad-based, national government.[3]
The TNG's internal problems led to the replacement of the prime minister four times in three years, and the administrative body's reported bankruptcy in December 2003. Its mandate ended at the same time.[4]
On October 10, 2004, legislators elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as the first president of the transitional federal government (TFG), the TNG's successor.[5] He received 189 votes from the TFG Parliament, while the closest contender, erstwhile Somali ambassador to Washington Abdullahi Ahmed Addou, got 79 votes in the third round of voting. The then incumbent President of Somalia, TNG leader Abdiqasim Salad Hassan, peacefully withdrew his candidature.[6][7]
The TNG was undermined by the Ethiopian government, who labelled TNG leaders as pro-Bin Laden Islamic extremists.[8]
Somalia National Peace Conference (SNPC) or Djibouti Conference, held in Arta, Djibouti, on April 20 - May 5, 2000.[9] The name Transitional National Government (TNG) was selected for the initiative at this time.
Appointment of General Ismail Qasim Naji as the leader of the army in January 2002.[11][12] The army in March 2002 numbered 2,010 men and 90 women.[13]
^Central Intelligence Agency (2014). "Somalia". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
^Women and Gender Equality in Peace Processes: From Women at the Negotiating Table to Postwar Structural Reforms in Guatemala and Somalia, Sumie Nakaya, Global Governance Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct.–Dec. 2003), pp. 459-476
^Somalia: Sovereign Disguise for a Mogadishu Mafia, Andre Le Sage,Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 29, No. 91, (Mar., 2002), pp. 132-138
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