Ethiopia Elects First Female President – Sahle-Work Zewde

Ethiopian lawmakers have elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s first female president and fourth president since it officially adopted multiparty politics and a new constitution back in 1995.

Ms. Sahle-Work, an experienced diplomat, is a former UN representative at the African Union and is now the head of the ceremonial post.

Her election comes a week after the country’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, appointed a cabinet with half the posts occupied by women. The former President, Mulatu Teshome, who served in the post for the five years, resigned resulting in the current state of affairs.

In the Ethiopian constitution, the prime minister holds the political power while the post of president is ceremonial.

There were no reasons given for the resignation of the outgoing president, though, observers think it could be because of the outcome of continued negotiations between the four parties in the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

President Sahle-Work Zewd, in her acceptance speech, spoke of the importance of maintaining peace according to the local media.