building process in the East African country, dpa cited UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as saying Tuesday. Ban, who was on a visit to Switzerland, congratulated Mohamud for being voted into office by parliament on Monday, the first time a Somali president has been elected in the troubled country since the 1980s. "The secretary general encourages the new president to move expeditiously, to appoint an inclusive, accountable government that can begin the work of peace-building in the country," Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said. Mohamud, a relative newcomer to politics, beat incumbent Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The eight-year mandate for the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government expired in August. Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when ex-President Mohamed Said Barre was ousted.
