Hussen’s cabinet favored young educated MPs, many from the North

Evidence

After two days of debates, they recognized the main political dilemma faced by the prime minister in selecting his new cabinet: talent versus regional representation. Hussen’s ambition was to both curb the size of the cabinet and select as many of the younger and more educated MPs to ministerial posts as possible. While curbing the size became difficult because of, in part, intense political pressure, he was able to make headway in selecting younger, more educated MPs. As it turned out, a disproportionate number of them happened to be from the North, a result of his commitment to look for potential high performers rather than a political calculation to privilege Northerners. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 738