Ethiopia Replaces First Female President After Her Resignation
Ethiopia’s first female president, Sahle-Work Zwede hinted in a social media post last weekend, that she wasn’t happy and had been silent for a year.
Sahle-Work Zewde, former President of Ethiopia speaks during the FIFA Women's Football Convention at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles on June 07, 2019 in Paris, France.
Taye Astike Selassie has taken the oath of office to serve as Ethiopia’s president. Selassie's ascension to the position was a surprising move, as he replaced Sahle-Work Zwede, who resigned less than three weeks before the end of her term.
Zwede was appointed as Ethiopia’s president in 2018, becoming the first woman to assume that office. Although the position is largely ceremonial, as executive powers are vested in the Prime Minister, Zwede’s entrance into office was greeted with optimism that she would be a positive influence on Ethiopian politics. However, her term in office was largely defined by the war in Tigray, as well as ongoing armed conflicts in the Oromia and Amhara regions.
While she made several calls for peace, Zwede was criticized for not being more vocal about the widely-reported gender-based violence during the two-year civil war in Tigray. According to Genocide Watch, more than 120,000 women and girls were sexually assaulted, and more crimes were committed after the peace deal in 2022.
Over the weekend, Zwede sent out a post on X, hinting that she wasn’t happy and had been keeping silent for the past year. She had reportedly fallen out with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in recent years.
President Selassie, who was sworn in on Monday, had served as foreign affairs minister since February and was Ethiopia’s permanent representative to the United Nations before then. Selassie is an experienced diplomat, previously serving as ambassador to Egypt — whom Ethiopia is currently in a diplomatic standoff with.- What You Need to Know About the Tensions Between Ethiopia and Egypt Over River Nile ›
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