Sahle-Work Zewde

In this Ethiopian name, the name Zewde is a patronymic, and the person should be referred by the given name, Sahle-Work.

Her Excellency
Sahle-Work Zewde
ሣህለ ወርቅ ዘውዴ
Sahle-Work in 2022
President of Ethiopia
In office
25 October 2018 – 7 October 2024
Prime MinisterAbiy Ahmed
Preceded byMulatu Teshome
Succeeded byTaye Atske Selassie
Under Secretary-General, Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union
In office
27 June 2018 – 25 October 2018
Appointed byAntónio Guterres
Preceded byHaile Menkerios
Succeeded byHanna Tetteh
Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi
In office
2011–2018
Appointed byBan Ki-moon
António Guterres
Preceded byAchim Steiner
Succeeded byHanna Tetteh
Ambassador to Senegal with accreditation to Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea
In office
1989–1993
PresidentMengistu Haile-Mariam
Tesfaye Gebre Kidan
Meles Zenawi
Personal details
Born (1950-02-21) 21 February 1950 (age 74)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire
Political partyIndependent
EducationUniversity of Montpellier

Sahle-Work Zewde (Amharic: ሣህለ ወርቅ ዘውዴ, born 21 February 1950) is an Ethiopian diplomat who served as president of Ethiopia from 2018 to 2024, the first woman to hold the office. She was elected as president unanimously by members of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly on 25 October 2018.[1]

American business magazine Forbes, on its annual edition of the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, listed Sahle-Work as the 93th most powerful woman in the world, making her the highest-ranking African woman on the list.[2][3]

Early life and education

Born in Addis Ababa,[4] Sahle-Work is of Amhara origin.[citation needed] She is the first born out of four children.[5] She attended primary and secondary school at Lycée Guebre-Mariam in Addis Ababa, after which she studied natural science at the University of Montpellier, France.[6][7] She is fluent in Amharic, French, and English.[8]

Career

Diplomatic career

Sahle-Work was only the second woman to be appointed an ambassador in Ethiopian history (ambassador Yodit Emiru was the first woman to hold an ambassadorship). She served as the ambassador of both the communist People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and post-civil war Transitional Government of Ethiopia.[9][10]

A veteran in the Ethiopian foreign service, Sahle-Work served as Ambassador to Senegal,[11] with accreditation to Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea, from 1989 to 1993.[9] From 1993 to 2002, she was Ambassador to Djibouti and Permanent Representative to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).[12][13] This was a prominent position, as Djibouti was the landlocked country's primary route to sea trade. Her involvement here gave her experience in trade issues. She held this position until 2002.[5] She later served as Ambassador to France,[11] Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and was accredited to Tunisia and Morocco from 2002 to 2006.[14]

Sahle-Work subsequently held other high level positions including Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Director-General for African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.[14]

Career with the United Nations

Until 2011, Sahle-Work served as Special Representative of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA).[15]

Sahle-Work during interview in Nairobi, 2016

In 2011, Ban appointed Sahle-Work as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON).[16] Under Sahle-Work, the Nairobi office became a more important UN hub for East and Central Africa, according to the 2012 Africa Yearbook.[17]

In June 2018, Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Sahle-Work as his Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) at the level of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.[14] She was the first woman to hold the post.[16] By this time, it was expected that Sahle-Work was preparing to retire.[5]

President of Ethiopia

Sahle Work giving Taye Atske Selassie the newly elected president the constitution

President Mulatu Teshome resigned suddenly on 24 October 2018, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed chose Sahle-Work as Teshome's successor. This appointment was one of several by Abiy to seek gender equality on the government, as he believed that this was a step toward eliminating discrimination in society. Sahle-Work's appointment as president of Ethiopia was unanimously approved by the Federal Parliamentary Assembly on 25 October. She was the first woman to serve in the role[5][18] and the fourth president since the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition was elected in the newly established Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1995.[19][20] She is expected to serve two six-year terms.[8]

Prior to her presidency, Sahle-Work had no experience in domestic politics.[5] Although her role is largely ceremonial (with most executive power lying with the prime minister), Sahle-Work's election made her Ethiopia's first female head of state since Empress Zewditu.[8] At the time she was appointed, Sahle-Work was the only female head of state in Africa,[4] and by 2021, she was one of two alongside Samia Suluhu of Tanzania.[8]

Sahle-Work meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February 2020

On 25 March 2020, Sahle-Work announced on Twitter that she has pardoned more than 4,000 prisoners in a move to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia.[21] She also pardoned more than 1,500 prisoners on 2 April 2020.[22]

Sahle-Work meeting with Foreign Minister of Austria Alexander Schallenberg in January 2021

On 19 December 2020, Sahle-Work commuted the death sentences of former Derg officials Berhanu Bayeh and Adis Tedla to life imprisonment. They had been granted safe haven in the Italian embassy soon after the Derg regime's collapse in 1991 and had been living there ever since. Italy refused to give them up because of its long-standing opposition to capital punishment. Berhanu and Adis had been sentenced in absentia to death in 2008, but were subsequently granted parole on 24 December.[23]

Sahle-Work meeting with Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea Kim Jin-pyo in October 2022

Sahle-Work demanded an end to the Tigray War between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) through "negotiations without any conditions", though she also supported countering TPLF attacks "with the necessary measures".[24][25]

References

  1. ^ "Ethiopia gets first female president". BBC. 25 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Sahle-Work Zewde". Forbes. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  3. ^ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b Gebreselassie, Elias (27 October 2018). "Who is Sahle-Work Zewde, Ethiopia's first female president?". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e Boko, Hermann (26 October 2018). "Sahle-Work Zewde, the diplomat who's become Ethiopia's first female president". France24.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022. "She is an Amhara, the ethnic group that ruled during the communist regime and was marginalised for a long time. The elite from this community would like to get back to business. The Amharas also supported Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. She will play the role of an internal ambassador to reduce any divisions that may exist within this community," says Prunier.
  6. ^ "Sahle-Work Zewde poised to be Ethiopia's first female president". borkena.com. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Ethiopia appoints career diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde as Africa's only female president". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d "Sahle-Work Zewde named Ethiopia's first woman president". Al Jazeera. 25 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Celebrating Ethiopian Women: Ambassador Sahle-work Zewde". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ethiopia). 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  10. ^ Haslach, Patricia (18 March 2015). "Remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Patricia M. Haslach at the Opening of the Second Annual Career Day on Women in Diplomacy". Embassy of the United States in Ethiopia. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  11. ^ a b Schemm, Paul (25 October 2018). "Ethiopia appoints first female president in its modern history in latest reform". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  12. ^ "News Alert: Ambassador Sahlework Zewde to become Ethiopia's president". Addis Standard. 24 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  13. ^ Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia – Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) Archived 25 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine United Nations, press release of 27 June 2018.
  14. ^ a b c "Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia – Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU)". United Nations. 27 June 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  15. ^ Tchounand, Ristel (25 October 2018). "Sahle-Work Zewde devient la première femme chef d'Etat de l'Ethiopie". La Tribune (in French). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  16. ^ a b Dahir, Abdi Latif (25 October 2018). "Ethiopia elects female president Sahle-Work Zewde". Quartz. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  17. ^ Mehler, Andreas; Melber, Henning; van Walvaren, Klaas (2012). Africa Yearbook Volume 8: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara in 2011. Brill Publishers. p. 17. ISBN 9789004241787.
  18. ^ "Ethiopia's parliament approves Sahle-Work Zewde as president". Reuters. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  19. ^ George Obulutsa (25 October 2018), Ethiopia's parliament approves Sahle-Work Zewde as first female president Archived 25 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters.
  20. ^ "Sahle-Work Zewde Becomes First Ethiopian Woman President". Al Bawaba. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  21. ^ Adebayo, Bukola (26 March 2020). "Ethiopia pardons more than 4,000 prisoners to help prevent coronavirus spread". CNN. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Ethiopia pardons additional 1, 559 inmates". Fana Broadcasting. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Ethiopian war criminals able to leave Italian embassy after nearly 30 years". CNN. 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Ethiopian president Sahle-work Zewde calls for negotiations to end Tigray war". Africanews. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Ethiopian President Zewde Calls For Negotiations to End Civil War. The 2024 Ethiopian presidential election took place on 7 October 2024 to elect the country's next president. Diplomat and outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs, Taye Atske Selassie, was elected unopposed to serve a six-year term. The election occurred amid heightened political tensions between outgoing President Sahle-Work Zewde and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, largely stemming from Abiy's ongoing military campaigns in Tigray and the Amhara region". News Central TV | Latest Breaking News Across Africa, Daily News in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt Today. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
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Political offices
Preceded by President of Ethiopia
2018–2024 		Succeeded by