Sadia Yasin Haji Samatar, who was elected the first female Deputy Speaker of the House of the People (Lower House), is Somalia’s Acting President.
The Deputy Speaker took over the reins in an acting capacity after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud left the country for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
President Mohamud is in the UAE on a 2-day official visit.
Normally, the Lower House Speaker, who is Sheikh Aden Madobe, would have been the Acting President.
However, Speaker Madobe is also out of the country.
Consequently, Samatar has created one more piece of history by being the first female in Somalia to serve as an Acting President.
She is the First Deputy Speaker of the federal Lower House, thus the third in command.