Thanks to a new constitution and improved security in and aroundthe Somali capital, the nation of 10 million is getting a fresh start.International efforts to stabilize Somalia have picked up and outsideinvestment is pouring into the country in record numbers.

The man maneuvering Somalia’s ‘Roadmap’ plan and the path topeace is not entirely the result of foreign security and intervention–the bulkof the credit goes to Somalia’s own leaders, and in particular its primeminister Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali.

Dr. Ali was brought fresh from his job as a professor at NewYork’s Niagara University in June 2011. During his short time in office, thepremier has navigated his way out of the feuds that once engulfed the Somalileadership, and focused his attention instead on how to get the war-torncountry out of twenty years of civil war.

With Ali at the helm, Somalia’s draft constitution was approvedjust a week ago. The prime minister’s Roadmap for the End of Transition willsoon usher in the end of Somalia’s decade-long struggle for legitimacy.

The prime minister’s constitution gives power back to the Somaliwomen and allows Somalia’s fledgling state-administrations to exercise powerseven over their own foreign policies.

What makes Ali’s rise to power unbelievable is that he has donemost of his work under the worst famine in the region in over half a century.

The premier’s security policy has also pushed Al-Shabaabmilitants into a small corridor of power, and much of this came at a time whenPresident Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was unwilling to work with regional powersagainst the armed insurgent group. By the end of the next president’s term,Al-Shabaab will be a distant memory, and this will come entirely as a result ofDr. Ali’s brilliant security plan.

Ali’s leadership has garnered attention far beyond Africa. Inthe last year, Turkish premier Racep Tayyep Erdogan, Saudi prince Al-Waleed BinTalal, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, and UN Secretary General BanKi-Moon have all visited the notoriously dangerous Somali capital.

The prime minister has proven, most importantly, that Somaliacan count on a moderate, pragmatic, and logical leader to push it forward. Nomore do Somalis have to listen to militant pseudo-Sheikhs and illiterate clanelders for guidance.

Despite his lack of experience and relative youthfulness, theprime minister has proven his ability to connect with all levels of society.And that he is not just limited to dealing with professionals of his owncaliber.

With Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali as president, Somalia cannot fail.