A potential candidate for the post of Somalia's new prime minister arrived in the southwestern town of Baidoa midday Tuesday after leaving the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Nur "Adde" Hussein Hassan, a former police colonel, met privately with President Abdullahi Yusuf at his Baidoa compound.

No reports emerged from the closed-door meeting between the two men, but Mr. Nur Adde's trip to Baidoa comes at a time the Somali president is expected to name a new premier any day after weeks of searching.

Inside sources in Baidoa tell Garowe Online that Mr. Nur Adde is the president's top candidate. Although Nur Adde's appointment is by no means guaranteed, he is the leading candidate in a long list of potentials.

Nur Adde also met with Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed "Dheere" Omar in Baidoa today. Mogadishu's ambitious mayor, who has been in Baidoa since last week, is aiming to have influence in President Yusuf's selection for a new premier.

Nur Adde was born in the Somali capital Mogadishu in 1938. He first joined the national police force in 1958 and was trained in police tactics abroad, including in the United States.

He studied criminal and tax law at a university in Somalia and worked in the prosecutor's office during the 1980s.

He has spent the past decade working for the Red Cross, out of its regional office in Nairobi.

Those who know Nur Adde best describe him as a calm man who bases important decisions on consultation and close scrutiny of all possible angles.

Police officials who worked with Nur Adde during his years in the Somali police force described him as a man dedicated to his work and his country.

Somalia's new prime minister will have many daunting tasks ahead of him, including quelling an armed resistance movement in Mogadishu and reconstructing a country destroyed by civil war.