Abiy Ahmed
Political career
Political career
----------------

### Member of Parliament

Abiy started his political career as a member of the [Oromo Democratic Party](/wiki/Oromo_Democratic_Party "Oromo Democratic Party") (ODP). The ODP has been the ruling party in [Oromia Region](/wiki/Oromia_Region "Oromia Region") since 1991 and also one of four coalition parties of the ruling coalition in Ethiopia, the [Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front](/wiki/Ethiopian_People%27s_Revolutionary_Democratic_Front "Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front") (EPRDF). He became a member of the central committee of ODP and congress member of the executive committee of the EPRDF in quick succession. In the 2010 national election, Abiy represented the [district](/wiki/Districts_of_Ethiopia "Districts of Ethiopia") of [Agaro](/wiki/Agaro "Agaro") and became an elected member of the [House of Peoples' Representatives](/wiki/House_of_Peoples%27_Representatives "House of Peoples' Representatives"), the lower chamber of the Ethiopian [Federal Parliamentary Assembly](/wiki/Federal_Parliamentary_Assembly "Federal Parliamentary Assembly"). Before and during his time of parliamentary service, there were several religious clashes among Muslims and Christians in [Jimma Zone](/wiki/Jimma_Zone "Jimma Zone"). Some of these confrontations turned violent and resulted in the loss of life and property. Abiy, as an elected member of parliament took a proactive role in working with several religious institutions and elders to bring about reconciliation in the zone. He helped set up a forum entitled "Religious Forum for Peace"*,* an outcome of the need to devise a sustainable resolution mechanism to restore peaceful Muslim\-Christian community interaction in the region.

In 2014, during his time in parliament, Abiy became the director\-general of a new and in 2011 founded Government Research Institute called [Science and Technology Information Center (STIC)](/wiki/Science_and_Technology_Information_Center_%28Ethiopia%29 "Science and Technology Information Center (Ethiopia)"). The following year, Abiy became an executive member of ODP. The same year he was elected to the House of Peoples' Representatives for a second term, this time for his home [woreda](/wiki/Woreda "Woreda") of [Gomma](/wiki/Gomma_%28woreda%29 "Gomma (woreda)").

### Rise to power

Starting from 2015, Abiy became one of the central figures in the violent fight against illegal [land grabbing](/wiki/Land_grabbing "Land grabbing") activities in Oromia Region and especially around [Addis Ababa](/wiki/Addis_Ababa "Addis Ababa"). Although the Addis Ababa Master Plan at the heart of the land\-grabbing plans was stopped in 2016, the disputes continued for some time resulting in injuries and deaths. It was this fight against land\-grabbing, that finally boosted Abiy Ahmed's political career, brought him into the spotlight and allowed him to climb the political ladder.

In October 2015, Abiy became the Ethiopian [Minister of Science and Technology (MoST)](/wiki/Ministry_of_Science_and_Technology%2C_Ethiopia "Ministry of Science and Technology, Ethiopia"), a post which he left after only 12 months. From October 2016 on, Abiy served as Deputy President of [Oromia Region](/wiki/Oromia_Region "Oromia Region") as part of the team of Oromia Region's president [Lemma Megersa](/wiki/Lemma_Megersa "Lemma Megersa") while staying a member of the Ethiopian Federal House of Peoples' Representatives. Abiy Ahmed also became the head of the Oromia Urban Development and Planning Office. In this role, Abiy was expected to be the major driving force behind Oromia Economic Revolution, Oromia Land and Investment reform, youth employment as well as resistance to widespread land grabbing in Oromia region. As one of his duties in office, he took care of the one million displaced [Oromo people](/wiki/Oromo_people "Oromo people") displaced from the [Somali Region](/wiki/Somali_Region "Somali Region") from the 2017 unrest.

As head of the ODP Secretariat from October 2017, Abiy facilitated the formation of a new alliance between the [Oromo](/wiki/Oromo_people "Oromo people") and [Amhara](/wiki/Amhara_people "Amhara people") groups, which together constitute two\-thirds of the Ethiopian population.

In early 2018, many political observers considered Abiy and Lemma Megersa as the most popular politicians within the Oromo community, as well as other Ethiopian communities. This came after several years of unrest in Ethiopia. But despite this favourable rating for Abiy Ahmed and Lemma Megersa, young people from the Oromia region called for immediate action without delays to bring fundamental change and freedom to Oromia Region and Ethiopia – otherwise more unrest was to be expected. According to Abiy himself, people are asking for a different rhetoric, with an open and respectful discussion in the political space to allow political progress and to win people for democracy instead of pushing them.

Until early 2018, Abiy continued to serve as head of the ODP secretariat and of the Oromia Housing and Urban Development Office and as Deputy President of Oromia Region. He left all these posts after his election as the leader of the [Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front](/wiki/Ethiopian_People%27s_Revolutionary_Democratic_Front "Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front").

### EPRDF leadership election

Following three years of protest and unrest, on 15 February 2018 the Ethiopian Prime Minister, [Hailemariam Desalegn](/wiki/Hailemariam_Desalegn "Hailemariam Desalegn"), announced his resignation – which included his resignation from the post of EPRDF chairman.
With the EPRDF's large majority in Parliament, its EPRDF chairman was all but assured of becoming the next Prime Minister. The EPRDF chairman, on the other hand, is one of the heads of the four parties that make up the ruling coalition: [Oromo Democratic Party](/wiki/Oromo_Democratic_Party "Oromo Democratic Party") (ODP), [Amhara Democratic Party](/wiki/Amhara_Democratic_Party "Amhara Democratic Party") (ADP), [Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement](/wiki/Southern_Ethiopian_People%27s_Democratic_Movement "Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement") (SEPDM) and [Tigray People's Liberation Front](/wiki/Tigray_People%27s_Liberation_Front "Tigray People's Liberation Front") (TPLF).

Hailemariam's resignation triggered the first ever contested leadership election among EPRDF coalition members to replace him. A lot of political observers made Lemma Megersa (the ODP chairman) and Abiy Ahmed the front\-runners to become the Leader of the ruling coalition and eventually [Prime Minister of Ethiopia](/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Ethiopia "Prime Minister of Ethiopia"). Despite being the clear favorite for the general public, Lemma Megersa was not a member of the national parliament, a requirement to become Prime Minister as required by the Ethiopian constitution. Therefore, Lemma Megersa was excluded from the leadership race. On 22 February 2018, Lemma Megersa's party, ODP, called for an emergency executive committee meeting and replaced him as Chairman of ODP with Abiy Ahmed, who was a member of parliament. Some observers saw that as a strategic move by the ODP to retain its leadership role within the coalition and to promote Abiy Ahmed to become prime minister.

On 1 March 2018, the 180 EPRDF executive committee members started their meeting to elect the leader of the party. Each of the four parties sent in 45 members. The contest for the leadership was among Abiy Ahmed of ODP, [Demeke Mekonnen](/wiki/Demeke_Mekonnen "Demeke Mekonnen"), the Deputy Prime Minister and ADP leader, [Shiferaw Shigute](/wiki/Shiferaw_Shigute "Shiferaw Shigute") as Chairman of SEPDM and [Debretsion Gebremichael](/wiki/Debretsion_Gebremichael "Debretsion Gebremichael") as the Leader of TPLF. Despite being the overwhelming favorite by the majority of Ethiopians, Abiy Ahmed faced major opposition from TPLF and SEPDM members during the leadership discussions.

On 27 March 2018, a few hours before the beginning of the leadership elections, Demeke Mekonnen, who had been seen as the major opponent to Abiy Ahmed, dropped out of the race. Many observers saw this as an endorsement of Abiy Ahmed. Demeke was then approved as deputy prime minister for another term. Following Demeke's exit, Abiy Ahmed received a presumably unanimous vote from both the ADP and ODP executive members, with 18 additional votes in a secret ballot coming from elsewhere. By midnight, Abiy Ahmed was declared chairman of the ruling coalition in Ethiopia, the EPRDF, and was considered as the Prime Minister Designate of Ethiopia by receiving 108 votes while Shiferaw Shigute received 58 and Debretsion Gebremichael received 2 votes. On 2 April 2018, Abiy Ahmed was elected as Prime Minister of Ethiopia by the House of Representatives and sworn in.


How might the election outcome affect the ODP and its members?