Sahle-Work Zewde facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sahle-Work Zewde
|
|
|---|---|
|
ሣህለ ወርቅ ዘውዴ
|
|
_20221009.jpg)
Sahle-Work in 2022
|
|
| President of Ethiopia | |
| In office 25 October 2018 – 7 October 2024 |
|
| Prime Minister | Abiy Ahmed |
| Preceded by | Mulatu Teshome |
| Succeeded by | Taye Atske Selassie |
| Under Secretary-General, Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union | |
| In office 27 June 2018 – 25 October 2018 |
|
| Appointed by | António Guterres |
| Preceded by | Haile Menkerios |
| Succeeded by | Hanna Tetteh |
| Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi | |
| In office 2011–2018 |
|
| Appointed by | Ban Ki-moon António Guterres |
| Preceded by | Achim Steiner |
| Succeeded by | Hanna Tetteh |
| Ambassador to Senegal with accreditation to Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea | |
| In office 1989–1993 |
|
| President | Mengistu Haile-Mariam Tesfaye Gebre Kidan Meles Zenawi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 February 1950 Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire |
| Political party | Independent |
| Education | University of Montpellier |
Sahle-Work Zewde (born February 21, 1950) is an Ethiopian diplomat and politician. She served as the president of Ethiopia from 2018 to 2024. She was the first woman to hold this important position in Ethiopia's history.
Sahle-Work was chosen as president by all members of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly. This happened on October 25, 2018. The magazine Forbes once listed her as one of the world's most powerful women. She was the highest-ranking African woman on their list.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sahle-Work Zewde was born in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. She is from the Amhara ethnic group. She is the oldest of four children in her family.
She went to primary and secondary school at Lycée Guebre-Mariam in Addis Ababa. After that, she moved to France to study natural science. She attended the University of Montpellier in France. Sahle-Work can speak three languages very well: Amharic, French, and English.
Career Journey
Becoming a Diplomat
Sahle-Work was one of the first women in Ethiopian history to become an ambassador. An ambassador is a country's official representative in another country. She worked as an ambassador for both the communist government and the government that came after the civil war in Ethiopia.
She has a lot of experience in foreign service. From 1989 to 1993, she was Ethiopia's Ambassador to Senegal. She also represented Ethiopia in Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, and Guinea during that time.
From 1993 to 2002, she served as Ambassador to Djibouti. She also worked with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Djibouti was very important for Ethiopia's trade because Ethiopia is a landlocked country. This role helped her learn a lot about trade issues.
Later, from 2002 to 2006, she was Ambassador to France. She also represented Ethiopia at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). During this time, she also worked with Tunisia and Morocco.
Sahle-Work also held other important jobs. She was Ethiopia's representative to the African Union. She also worked with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). She was also a Director-General in Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Working with the United Nations
Before 2011, Sahle-Work was a Special Representative for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She led the UN's peace-building office in the Central African Republic.
In 2011, she became the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). Under her leadership, the Nairobi office became a more important UN center for East and Central Africa.
In June 2018, UN Secretary-General António Guterres gave her another important role. She became his Special Representative to the African Union. She also led the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU). She was the first woman to hold this position.
Becoming President of Ethiopia
The previous president, Mulatu Teshome, suddenly resigned in October 2018. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed then chose Sahle-Work to be the new president. This was part of Abiy's plan to have more women in government. He believed it would help end discrimination in society.
Sahle-Work's appointment as president of Ethiopia was approved by everyone in the Federal Parliamentary Assembly. This happened on October 25, 2018. She made history as the first woman to be president of Ethiopia. She was the fourth president since the current government was formed in 1995. Presidents in Ethiopia usually serve two six-year terms.
Before becoming president, Sahle-Work had not worked in Ethiopia's domestic politics. The president's role in Ethiopia is mostly ceremonial. This means the prime minister holds most of the real power. Still, Sahle-Work's election made her Ethiopia's first female head of state since Empress Zewditu. When she was appointed, she was the only female head of state in Africa. By 2021, there were two, including Samia Suluhu of Tanzania.
.jpg)
In March 2020, Sahle-Work announced that she had pardoned over 4,000 prisoners. This was done to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia. She also pardoned more than 1,500 more prisoners in April 2020.
In December 2020, Sahle-Work changed the death sentences of two former officials to life imprisonment. These officials had been living in the Italian embassy since 1991. Italy had refused to hand them over because it is against the death penalty.
.jpg)
Sahle-Work called for an end to the Tigray War through peaceful talks. She also supported taking necessary actions to counter attacks from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
See also
In Spanish: Sahle-Work Zewde para niños
