Ethiopia: a woman for the first time president

Ethiopia: a woman for the first time president
©
AFP
/ EDUARDO SOTERAS

Ethiopian parliamentarians on Thursday unanimously nominated for the first time a woman, Sahle-Work Zewde, president of the country, after the resignation of the one who until now held this essentially honorary position.

Career diplomat Sahle-Work, 68, becomes the fourth head of state in Ethiopia since the adoption of the 1995 Constitution. This text provides for a president to be elected for up to two six-year terms. .

She was until then the special representative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the African Union (AU). Previously, she was ambbadador to France, Djibouti, Senegal, and the Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (Igad), the East African regional bloc.

Ms. Sahle-Work, born in Addis Ababa and who studied in France, is currently the only woman head of state in Africa.

In her inaugural address, she praised the reforms made by the new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who took office in April, and more particularly the recent choice of the latter to appoint a government whose half of the posts are occupied by women. The Ministries of Defense and the new Ministry of Peace have been badigned to women.

"If the current changes in Ethiopia are led by both men and women, their momentum will lead to Ethiopia free from religious, ethnic or gender-based discrimination," she said.

"Women are the first victims of the absence of peace," she added. "During my tenure, I will focus on the role of women in ensuring peace, as well as on the benefits of peace for women.I call on the government to eradicate poverty with the full participation of women because it is a source of instability ".

She also called on the government and opposition to "focus on the things that unite us" in order to "create a country and a generation of which we will be proud".

Opening

The appointment of Sahle-Work Zewde was hailed by the Security Council in New York. Announced by Bolivian ambbadador Sacha Sergio Llorentty Soliz, acting president of the highest instance of the UN, the news sparked the applause of diplomats gathered for a Council debate on "Women, Peace and Security".

Before appointing the 60-year-old, both Houses of Parliament endorsed the resignation of President Mulatu Teshome, who had held this position since 2013.

No explanation was provided for the resignation of Mr. Mulatu one year before the end of his term. But observers believe that it results from ongoing negotiations between the four parties forming the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

The Ethiopian president is officially the head of state, but despite significant social influence, his responsibilities are essentially symbolic and honorary. Most of the power is in the hands of the Prime Minister, who represents the country in the great international summits.

In April, the EPRDF chose Abiy Ahmed as the new Prime Minister, for the first time from the largest ethnic group in the country, the Oromo. Mr. Mulatu also comes from this ethnic group.

Mr. Abiy has since embarked on a broad reform agenda, including the release of dissidents, an opening of democratic space and peace with neighboring Eritrea.

The women who previously held the position of head of state in Africa include Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who became in 2005 the first elected president of Liberia and Africa, who ceded power to George Weah in early 2018, and the former president Mauritian Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, who resigned in March 2018 because involved in a financial scandal.

In Malawi, Joyce Banda served as president from 2012 to 2014 following the death of her predecessor Bingu wa Mutharika.

25/10/2018 16:30:05 –
Addis Ababa (AFP) –
© 2018 AFP