MOGADISHU, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh

Mohamud has named Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid as the country's new

prime minister, diplomats and a government source said, the

first major decision by an administration installed after over

20 years of conflict.

Saaid, a political newcomer, has been a prominent

businessman in neighbouring Kenya and is married to Asha Haji

Elmi, an influential Somali peace activist.

A Western diplomat said Saaid had a reputation for being

above Somalia's notoriously volatile clan politics, similar to

the new president, and the news of his appointment would be

welcomed by foreign governments.

"Like all the decisions the new president has made so far,

this is a good one, and Somalia is on a bit of a roll with the

election of (Mohamed Osman) Jawaari as parliament speaker and

Mohamud as president," the diplomatic source told Reuters.

Mohamud, a former academic and a political newcomer himself,

was elected president in a secret ballot on Sept. 10, a result

hailed by his supporters as a vote for change in the Horn of

Africa state ravaged by war and anarchy since 1991.

Saaid's appointment as the prime minister will have to be

approved by Somali legislators, diplomatic sources said.