Backgrounder: Ethiopia's first female President Sahle-Work Zewde

Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-26 00:30:54|Editor: yan
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ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian parliament on Thursday elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the east African country's first ever female president.

Zewde's was appointed by the Ethiopian parliament's two houses - the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives (HoPR) and the Ethiopian House of Federation, the lower and upper houses respectively - which followed the official resignation of President Mulatu Teshome on Thursday.

WHO IS SAHLE-WORK ZEWDE?

Zewde, who is a well-regarded diplomat representing Ethiopia at global, continental and regional organizations including the UN, the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), had also served as Ethiopia's ambassador to various countries.

In June 2018, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Zewde as his Special Representative to the AU and Head of the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU) at the level of Under-Secretary-General.

Zewde, who was the Director-General of the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON) during her appointment by Guterres, was the first woman appointed to the position, according to the UN.

The UN, while revealing Zewde's appointment by the Secretary-General as his Special Representative to the AU and Head of the UNOAU, also indicated that Zewde "brings three decades of progressively responsible experience at the national, regional and international levels."

According to her biography read before the Ethiopian parliament on Thursday, Zewde has also served as the Special Representative and Head of the UN Integrated Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) as well as permanent envoy of Ethiopia to the AU and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

With her vast experience at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that includes Director-General for African Affairs under the ministry, Zewde was Ethiopia's Ambassador to France, Permanent Representative to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and accredited to Tunisia and Morocco from 2002 to 2006.

She was also Ethiopia's Ambassador to Djibouti and Permanent Representative to IGAD from 1993 to 2002, and Ethiopia's Ambassador to Senegal, with accreditation to Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea from 1989-1993.

ZEWDE AS ETHIOPIA'S PRESIDENT

Zewde, 68, in her acceptance speech that followed her swearing in ceremony before the two houses on Thursday, also vowed to serve her country and its people with her utmost efforts.

She also reiterated her readiness to apply her experience in diplomacy to effectively serve her country as she takes the Ethiopian president's office.

She also stressed her dedication to maintain the longstanding unity among Ethiopians as well as sustain the ongoing reform of the Ethiopian government and the governance structure.

As the east African country exercises a parliamentary political system, the country's president has a ceremonial power, which includes granting amnesty to prisoners, officially opening the annual proceedings of the parliament's two houses, receive foreign ambassadors, as well as present the country's annual targets to members of the parliament.

The prime minister is the head of government, in which a political party or coalition with the highest parliamentary seats, at least 51 percent of the active seats at HoPR - the Ethiopian parliament's lower house, forms a government.

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