Date: Monday, 29 October 2018
Ethiopia has just marked a key moment for the advancement of women in Africa.
Career diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde was just appointed as the President of Ethiopia, the first in the country’s history and making her the only woman head of state currently in office on the continent.
But just who is Sahle-Work Zewde? Here’s all you need to know about the new president of Africa’s second-most populous nation.
Sahle-Work's appointment is key a step for female representation in Ethiopia's government
Sahle-Work Zewde is an Ethiopian diplomat who was recently appointed the president of Ethiopia, the first woman to serve in the position.
She was born in Addis Abba, Ethiopia on February 21, 1950.
After attending the University of Montpelier in France, Sahle-Work soon took up a career in diplomatic service for her country, serving as its ambassador to Senegal with accreditation to Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea from 1989 to 1993.
She later served as Ethiopia’s ambassador to Djibouti and the Permanent Representative to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an eight-nation trade bloc in East Africa, from 1993 to 2002.
Afterwards, Sahle-Work was appointed to serve as Ethiopia’s ambassador to France and served as the Permanent Representative to UNESCO, also being accredited to Tunisia and Morocco from 2002 to 2006.
In 2011, she was appointed to be the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi before being chosen to be Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union at the position of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on June 27, 2018, being the first woman to hold the prominent positon.
Shortly afterwards in October 2018, Sahle-Work was named as the president of Ethiopia by the country’s lawmakers, notably being the first woman to hold the position.
Sahle-Work Zewde is 68 years old.
She was born on February 21, 1950.
Sahle-Work has served as ambassador to many nations and has also held key posts at the UN
On October 25, 2018, Sahle-Work chosen by Ethiopian lawmakers to be the first female president of the African nation, an appointment which makes her the only woman currently serving as a head of state in Africa.
She was appointed unanimously to the largely ceremonial position following the abrupt resignation of Mulatu Teshome, who stepped down a day earlier with little explanation.
Her appointment now means that half of the cabinet members in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration are now women, including defense minister Aisha Mohammed and Muferiat Kamil, the head of the newly-created Ministry of Peace.
'If the current change in Ethiopia is headed equally by both men and women, it can sustain its momentum and realize a prosperous Ethiopia free of religious, ethnic and gender discrimination,' Sahle-Work said.
Although the presidency of Ethiopia is largely a ceremonial role with limited political power, Sahle-Work’s ascent to the positon carries immense symbolic weight.
'Government and opposition parties have to understand we are living in a common house and focus on things that unite us, not what divides us, to create a country and generation that will make all of us proud.
'The absence of peace victimizes firstly women, so during my tenure I will emphasise women's roles in ensuring peace and the dividends of peace for women,’ she said.
As president, Sahle-Work is expected to serve two six-year terms in her position.
