The Somali parliament endorsed President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed'schoice for prime minister by an overwhelming margin Saturday.
Meetingin neighboring Djibouti for security reasons, the parliament voted 414to nine in favor of the appointment of Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.
Thenew prime was born in Mogadishu in 1960, the son of Abdirashid AliSharmarke, the last democratically-elected leader of the country, whowas assassinated in 1969.
Sharmarke was raised in the UnitedStates and Canada, and holds Canadian citizenship. He has worked forthe United Nations in Darfur and most recently worked as Somalia'sambassador-designate to Washington.
Somalia's Western-backed transitional government has little power in the country beyond portions of Mogadishu.
TheSomali Islamist militant group al-Shabab denied reports Thursday it isnegotiating with the new president, and says it never will.
Thegroup says it will continue fighting against what it called the"apostate government" until Somalia is ruled under strict Sharia(Islamic) law.
Earlier this week, President Sheikh Sharif saidhe is ready to discuss peace with the Islamist insurgents or any groupthat still opposes the U.N.-sponsored reconciliation effort.
Al-Shabab controls many parts of Somalia, including Baidoa, which had been the seat of the transitional parliament.
PresidentSheikh Sharif, a moderate Islamist, was elected last month, replacingPresident Abdullahi Yusuf, who resigned after a power struggle with hisprime minister.
