Sahle-Work Zewde becomes Ethiopia's 1st female president

(Image credit: Eduardo Soteras/AFP/Getty Images)

published 25 October 2018

After years as a diplomat, Sahle-Work Zewde is now the first female president of Ethiopia.

She was elected by parliament, and is Africa's only female head of state. As president, she will be able to appoint ambassadors, receive foreign envoys, and grant pardons, with the prime minister holding executive power. Fitsum Arega, chief of staff to the prime minister's office, said Sahle-Work "brings the right competence and 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 normalizes women as decision-makers in public life."

Previously, Sahle-Work was special representative to the African Union, head of the U.N. Office to the African Union, director-general of the U.N. Office in Nairobi, and Ethiopia's ambassador to France and Djibouti. After she was sworn in, Sahle-Work promised to work for gender equality, telling parliament, "I urge you all to uphold our peace, in the name of a mother, who is the first to suffer from the absence of power."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Speed Reads Us News

To continue reading this article...

Create a free account

Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.

Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.

Cancel or pause at any time.

Already a subscriber to The Week?

Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.

Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox