It’s official. Members of the Ethiopian parliament have just elected Sahle–Work Zewde as the country’s first female president. 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, cementing another shift in the country’s political system from Prime Minister, making Ethiopia the third country in Africa, after Rwanda and Seychelles, to achieve gender parity in their cabinets.
President Sahle–Work is a senior diplomat who most recently held a position with the United Nations. In her acceptance speech, President Sahle–Work spoke about the importance of maintaining peace, local media say. She becomes the fourth president since the ruling EPRDF coalition came to power. Since his appointment in April, Prume Minister 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.
