Image copyright Reuters Image caption Sahle-Work Zewde promised to focus on gender equality and promoting peace

Ethiopian members of parliament have elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the country's first female president.

Ms Sahle-Work is an experienced diplomat who has now become Africa's only female head of state.

Her election to the ceremonial position comes a week after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed a cabinet with half the posts taken up by women.

After being sworn in, President Sahle-Work promised to work hard to make gender equality a reality in Ethiopia.

Addressing parliament, she also pledged to promote peace: "I urge you all, to uphold our peace, in the name of a mother, who is the first to suffer from the absence of peace.''

Fighting for women's rights

By Bekele Atoma, BBC Afaan Oromoo

The new president was keen to make a point about gender equality right from the start, telling MPs that if they thought she was talking too much about women, she had only just begun.

There may now be male-female parity in the new cabinet but elsewhere there is still a long way to go.

Ms Sahle-Work's appointment has been welcomed by Ethiopians on social media with many calling it "historic".

She has been described as Ethiopia's first female head of state of the modern era, with some remembering Empress Zewditu who governed the country in the early part of the 20th Century.

Ms Sahle-Work was voted in after the unexpected resignation of her predecessor, Mulatu Teshome.

The prime minister's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, tweeted that "in a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalises women as decision-makers in public life".

Image copyright AFP Image caption President Sahle-Work (left) is the ceremonial head of state and Prime Minsiter Abiy Ahmed (right) holds the political power

President Sahle-Work has served as an ambassador for Ethiopia in Senegal and Djibouti. She has also held a number of UN positions, including head of peace-building in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Immediately before becoming president, Ms Sahle-Work was the UN representative at the African Union.

In the Ethiopian constitution, the post of president is ceremonial with the prime minister holding the political power.

The last African female head of state was Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, who resigned in March over an expenses scandal. She denied any wrong doing.</s>Ethiopia’s parliament today approved Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s new president, the first woman to hold the post.

Sahle-Work, who was born 21 February, 1950, in Addis Ababa, is at present U.N. under secretary general and special representative of the secretary general to the African Union.

She replaces Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, who tendered his resignation to parliament earlier on Wednesday. Wirtu had been president since 2013.

Fitsum Arega, Chief of staff to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described the appointment of Sahle-Work as historic.

In a tweet today, Arega said: “In a historic move, the two Houses have elected Ambassador Sahle-Work Zewde as the next President of Ethiopia.

“She is the first female head of state in modern Ethiopia. A career diplomat & senior official at the UN. She brings the right competence & experience to the office.

“In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalises women as decision-makers in public life”.

Woyzero Sahle-Work Zewde studied natural science at the University of Montpellier, France. She is fluent in Amharic, French and English.

She is a veteran Ethiopian diplomat. She was once Ambassador to Senegal, with accreditation to Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea, from 1989 to 1993.

From 1993 to 2002, she was Ambassador to Djibouti and Permanent Representative to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

She later served as Ambassador to France, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and accredited to Tunisia and Morocco from 2002 to 2006.

Zewde served as Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peace Building Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA). Previously, she also held a number of other high level positions including as Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and as Director-General for African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

In 2011, Zewde was appointed to the position of Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She was the first person to hold the post at the level of Under-Secretary-General.</s>Former UN Official Sahle-Work Zewde Becomes Ethiopia’s First Female President

Sahle-Work Zewde leaves Parliament after being elected as Ethiopia's first female president, in Addis Ababa on Oct. 25, 2018. (Getty Images)

Ethiopia appoints first female president in its modern history in latest reform

ADDIS ABABA, Ethi­o­pia — Ethiopia’s Parliament on Thursday approved the East African country’s first female president, Sahle-Work Zewde, a veteran of the United Nations and the diplomatic corps.

The position of president is ceremonial in Ethiopia, with executive power vested in the office of the prime minister. But the appointment is deeply symbolic and follows up on last week’s cabinet reshuffle. Half the ministers are now women in Africa’s second-most populous country.

“In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalizes women as decision-makers in public life,” tweeted Fitsum Arega, the prime minister’s chief of staff and de facto government spokesman.

Parliament accepted the resignation of Mulatu Teshome, who had served as president since 2013.

In remarks to Parliament after she took her oath of office, Sahle-Work emphasized the importance of respecting women and the need to build a “society that rejects the oppression of women.” She also promised to work for peace and unity in the country.

—

 Related:

 The Power of Ethiopia’s Gender-Balanced Cabinet

 In Ethiopian leader’s new cabinet, half the ministers are women (The Washington Post)



 The latest episode of the Helen Show on EBS TV features a timely topic: professional women

 and motherhood. The show’s host Helen Mesfin speaks with Mimi Hailegiorghis, who is

 a Department Head of Systems Performance Engineering at Mitre Corporation, & Tseday Alehegn,

 Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tadias Magazine.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.</s>Ethiopian lawmakers on Thursday elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s first female president, AFP reported. They unanimously voted for the 68-year-old senior diplomat to replace Mulatu Teshome, who had resigned earlier. The president’s post in Ethiopia is largely ceremonial.

Last week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had appointed a 20-member cabinet, in which half the posts are held by women. These include Defence Minister Aisha Mohammed and Muferiat Kamil, who leads the newly-formed Ministry of Peace.

“If the current change in Ethiopia is headed equally by both men and women, it can sustain its momentum and realise a prosperous Ethiopia free of religious, ethnic and gender discrimination,” said Sahle-Work on Thursday.

Sahle-Work’s appointment makes her Africa’s only female head of state, reported the BBC. After the swearing-in ceremony, she promised to work hard toward make gender equality a reality in Africa’s second most populous country. In her address to the parliament, she also promised to promote peace.

Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Fitsum Arega said, “In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalises women as decision-makers in public life.”

The cabinet reshuffle last week made Ethiopia only the third country in Africa, after Rwanda and Seychelles, to achieve gender equality in their cabinets, Reuters reported.

Sahle-Work has been Ethiopia’s ambassador to France, Djibouti, Senegal and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an eight-country trade bloc in Africa. Before becoming president, she was the United Nations representative at the African Union.

Africa’s last female head of state was Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, who resigned in March over allegations that she used a credit card given to her by a non-governmental organisation to make purchases worth thousands of dollars.</s>She is Africa's only female head of state.

Members of the Ethiopian parliament have elected Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde to be the country’s new president, BBC News reported.

Not only is Sahle-Work the country’s first female president, but she is currently Africa’s only female head of state, the last being Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, who resigned in March.

Zewde, 69, was the United Nations representative at the African Union before her appointment to president on Thursday. She has held other positions within the U.N., including head of peace-building in the Central African Republic, and has served as an ambassador for Ethiopia in Senegal and Djibouti.

She replaces Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, who unexpectedly tendered his resignation on Wednesday one year before his term was to end. According to Reuters, his resignation was due to him wanting to be part of “change and reforms.”

Though the presidential position is considered ceremonial, as the prime minister holds most of the country’s political power, it is still seen as a huge win for gender equality in the country and has been welcomed by many Ethiopians on social media, who are calling her appointment “historic.”

“In a historic move, the two Houses has elected Ambassador Shalework Zewde as the President of #Ethiopia,” the prime minister’s chief of staff Fitsum Arega tweeted.

After being sworn in, BBC News said President Sahle-Work promised to “work hard to make gender equality a reality in Ethiopia” and pledged to promote peace.

“I urge you all, to uphold our peace, in the name of a mother, who is the first to suffer from the absence of peace,” she said to parliament after she was approved for the position.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reshuffled his cabinet prior to Sahle-Work’s presidency, cutting the number of ministerial jobs from 28 to 20 and appointing women to 10 of those positions, BBC News reported last week. Among the appointments were Aisha Mohammad, who was named Ethiopia’s first female defense minister, and Muferiat Kamil, who became the country’s first Minister of Peace that will oversee the country’s intelligence and security apparatus. The moves made Ethiopia the third African country, along with Rwanda and Seychelles, to achieve gender parity in its cabinet.

In a speech to Parliament, he explained women were “less correct than men” and would help restore peace and stability.

Abiy became prime minister in April after the resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn and has introduced reforms that BBC News has called “unthinkable not so long ago.”

Since his appointment to the position, Mr. Abiy has lifted the state of emergency, ordered thousands of prisoners to be released, allowed dissidents to return home and unblocked numerous websites and TV channels. He has also ended the state war with the bordering country of Eritrea by agreeing to give up disputed territory, “normalizing” the relationship with the country that was once Ethiopia’s enemy.</s>Sahle-Work Zewde was unanimously elected to be Ethiopia's first female president Thursday by the African country's lawmakers, CBS News reports.

Sahle-Work Zewde, who has worked as a diplomat for several United Nations organizations, will take over for Mulatu Teshome, who resigned the presidency Wednesday.

Zewde has served as the UN's special representative to the African Union since June.

She was also the first director general of the UN office in Nairobi.

Specific details about Teshome's resignation remain unclear, but many are speculating that it was the results of continued negotiations between the country's ruling political parties after last week's political Cabinet reshuffling by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, CNN reported Wednesday.

Teshome took office in 2013, leading the country through several outbreaks of ethnic violence.

Abiy is viewed as a progressive political leader in Ethiopia over filling half of the country's ministrial seats with women, appointing the country's first female defense minister and freeing several jailed jounrnalists since taking office last April.

Abiy's chief of staff Fitsum Arega expressed the prime minister's support for Zewde's election.

"In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalizes women as decision-makers in public life," Arega said Thursday.</s>ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's parliament has approved senior diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde as the country's first female president, proceedings on state television showed, cementing another shift in the country's political system from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Sahle-Work is at present U.N. under-secretary general and special representative of the secretary general to the African Union. She replaces Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, who tendered his resignation to parliament earlier on Wednesday.

The president's post is a ceremonial one in Ethiopia. The prime minister, who is the head of state, holds executive power.

"In a historic move, the two Houses has elected Ambassador Shalework Zewde as the next President of #Ethiopia. She is the first female head of state in modern Ethiopia," Fitsum Arega, Abiy's chief of staff, said on Twitter.

"In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalizes women as decision-makers in public life."

Last week, when the prime minister reshuffled his cabinet, he appointed 10 female ministers, making Ethiopia the third country in Africa, after Rwanda and Seychelles, to achieve gender parity in their cabinets.

"When there is no peace in country, mothers will be frustrated. Therefore, we need to work on peace for the sake of our mothers," Sahle-Work told parliament after her approval.

Teshome, who had held the office for five years, departed one year ahead of his term ending, saying he wanted to be part of change and reforms.

Sahle-Work becomes the fourth president since the ruling EPRDF coalition came to power.

Since his appointment in April, Abiy has presided over a raft of reforms that have turned the region's politics on its head, including the pardoning of dissidents long outlawed by the government.</s>Ethiopia’s parliament has approved that Zewde Sahle-Work becomes the country’s president.

She was appointed to the ceremonial position on Thursday after Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, the former president, tendered his resignation.

Wirtu has been the country’s president since 2013.

Fitsum Arega, chief of staff to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described the appointment of Sahle-Work as historic.

“In a historic move, the two Houses have elected Ambassador Sahle-Work Zewde as the next President of Ethiopia,” he wrote on Twitter.

“She is the first female head of state in modern Ethiopia. A career diplomat & senior official at the UN. She brings the right competence & experience to the office.

“In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalises women as decision-makers in public life.”

The newly appointed president has previously served as an ambassador for Ethiopia in Senegal and Djibouti. She was also the UN representative at the African Union.

In Ethiopia, the prime minister holds the political power while the presidency is a ceremonial position.</s>The parliament of Ethiopia has elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the nation's first female president. Sahle-Work, as her name denotes, has been described as an experienced diplomat who recently held an office with the UN.

Members of the parliament of Ethiopia have elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the country's first female president.

Sahle-Work is an internationally acclaimed diplomat who recently held a position with the United Nations (UN), BBC reports.

Zewde's election to the highest political office in the nation came just a few days after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed set up a cabinet with half the positions taken up by women.

In her acceptance speech, President Sahle-Work spoke about the importance of maintaining peace, local media freedom.</s>Ethiopia has elected its first female president, Sahle-Work Zewde.

According to a report on BBC Africa, Ms Zewde was elected by members of parliament.

Ms Zewde’s emergence to the ceremonial position comes as the former president Mulatu Teshome resigned from office. Mr Teshome tendered his resignation to parliament on Wednesday.

In June 2018, Ms Zewde was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as his Special Representative to the African Union, and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union at the level of Under-Secretary-General.

Her election comes after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed a cabinet with half the posts taken up by women.
United Nations diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde becomes the first female President of Ethiopia in its history after the resignation of Mulatu Teshome.