On Thursday Ethiopia swore in its first female president.
In what he said was part of the reform process, former President Mulatu Teshome (PhD), submitted his resignation speech to the parliament. His first term would have ended next September since the law allowed him to serve for six years.
On the same day the joint house elected Sahle-Work Zewde (Amb), a well-known diplomat, as Head of State.
She is the only serving female Head of State in Africa. 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 normalizes women as decision-makers in public life”.
In her sworn speech she amplified that cooperation and working for a common agenda is to be expected by the political parties. President Sahle-Work also promised to work hard to make gender equality a reality in Ethiopia.
President Sahle-Work, 68, has served in different government offices before she became a diplomat. Her bio presented at the parliament indicated that President Sahle-Work is the second female ambassador after Yodit Emmeru (Amb). She has served as an ambassador for Ethiopia in several countries.
She began her diplomatic career as ambassador to Senegal in 1989 with responsibilities in neighboring African countries and later went to Djibouti before eventually serving as ambassador to France, where she had previously studied. She also held a number of UN positions, including head of peace-building in the Central African Republic.
Sahle-Work was UN under-secretary general and special representative of the secretary general to the African Union before becoming president.
MulatuTeshome had served as president since 2013.