Ethiopian members of parliament have elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s first female president, making her Africa’s only female head of state.
(Photo: BBC)
President Sahle-Work, at her swearing-in ceremony, promised to work hard to make gender equality a reality in Ethiopia, and promote peace in the country:
“I urge you all, to uphold our peace, in the name of a mother, who is the first to suffer from the absence of peace.”
She was voted in after the unexpected resignation of her predecessor, Mulatu Teshome. President Sahle-Work has previously served as an ambassador for Ethiopia in Senegal and Djibouti. She has also held a number of UN positions, including head of peace-building in the Central African Republic and, most recently, the UN representative at the African Union.
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