Abdulkassim Salat Hassan is the first president Somalia has had for nearly ten years.

He was appointed two weeks ago by a parliament in exile in Djibouti. His country is in a state of anarchy, and control is exercised by different armed factions opposed to each other, and to him.

Mr Hassan's task is to find a way to impose a civilian authority on a country where all the institutions of the state have been destroyed and where the gun remains the only real measure of power.

Can he do it? President Hassan answered your questions in a live webcast from New York.

Click on the links below to watch or listen to the webcast.

Click here to read the full story.

Exiles

Amal, USA:When can we go back home?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: I hope that very soon you will be back home in our country.

Dr. Ismail, Bangkok, Thailand: Many Somali intellectuals have fled the civil war and are living abroad. What are your plans to get them back to help reconstruct the home country?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: Well, I have advertised through the mass media for all Somali intellectuals to come back and help reconstruct the country.

Abdulrazak - Saudi Arabia: A large number of Somalis are living abroad. Are you going to allow dual nationality?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: The law which will be promulgated by the National Assembly who deal with this problem.

Mohamed - Saudi Arabia: Many people have fled their homes. What are you going to do about looted properties?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: According to the Transitional Charter all property should be returned to its rightful owner.

Warlords

Ali - Thailand: How are you going to deal with the warlords?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan:There is only one voice - or one law - of the people of Somalia now. The people of Somalia stated their will in an election of a parliament, President and a government. Everybody now has to conform to the will of the Somali people.

Ahmed, Somalia: Are you going to meet face to face with the warlords?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: Well, we have a good tradition in Somalia of sitting down together to iron out differences.

Ali, Netherlands: Your generals in Mogadishu are recruiting militiamen to become new police force. How can militiamen who were largely responsible of killing and looting now become disciplined police?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: They are not actually recruiting they are putting then in the militia in camps After initial training we will put together the security forces for our country.

Omar Alasow, UK: Will there be a war crimes tribunal?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: It is up to Parliament and the law of the land to decide who will go before the Court of Law.

Democracy

Dayib, USA: Are you going to allow opposition parties to operate in the country?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: Yes, according to the transitional charter there is a provision for a multi party system. Somalia is a new democracy with a free market economy, free enterprise and this is all in our charter.

Abshir, USA: Somalis have tried Democracy, Socialism, and tribalism, and none have worked. There remains one other option: Islam. Would you be willing to give it a chance?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: Democracy and Islam are not contradictory. They are part of the history and society of Somalia.

Sado, USA: When will you appoint a cabinet? Are you going to include a woman in your cabinet?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: Yes women will be included in our parliament. They are very effective members of our parliament. I will elect the cabinet when I return.

Aweis, Finland: Are you really going to step down when your term is up?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: Yes definitely. According to the Charter, the transitional period of the Presidency and Government is 3 years.

Foreign help

Ibrahim - Australia: Do you expect financial aid from the international community? Have you received any.

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: The people of Somalia will expect the aid of its friends in the international community. But primarily it will depend on the people of Somalia.

Russell, UK: Who is currently providing financial backing for your administration?

President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan:
The people of Somalia provide the financial backing.

Somalian unity

Leyla, Finland: What is your offer for the people of Somaliland?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: The main things that we can offer the Somali people is democracy and decentralisation.

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: The regions of the north and north east, and these people are represented by this parliament. There is a peace and tranquillity in these regions and I would like this to continue.

Col. Mohamed Ibrahim "Guber", England: Will your government be inclusive of all the sections of the Somali community and avoid the injustices of the past?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: The government will be inclusive we have learnt our lessons from the past and avoid them in the future.

Dahir, Norway Ethiopian troops are said to be operational in some regions of Somalia. What are you going to do about this?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: I have already spoken with the Ethiopian President and hope to visit Addis Ababa soon.

Abdirahman, Denmark: What are your views on greater Somalia including Eastern Ethiopia and North East Kenya?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: I am the President of the Somali Republic. At the moment we are in the business of restoring peace in the Somali Republic.

Shirwa Omar, Canada: Somalia now has at least three different currencies printed by rival warlords. How are you going to deal with that problem?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan:
A re-established Somali Central Bank will issue new currency to replace the existing ones.

Personal

Aisha, USA: What made you run for presidency?

Abdulkassim Salat Hassan: My generation and myself, we are the people of Somali. We have been educated by the schools of Somalia and in order to repay that debt I have chosen to be in this position and I want to bring peace to my country

Shakila, UK: How does it feel to be the first president after ten years of chaos?