Ethiopia’s parliament today approved Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s new president, the first woman to hold the post.
Sahle-Work, who was born 21 February, 1950, in Addis Ababa, is at present United Nations, U.N, under secretary general and special representative of the secretary general to the African Union.
She replaces Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, who had been president since 2013 but tendered his resignation to parliament Yesterday.
Woyzero Sahle-Work Zewde studied natural science at the University of Montpellier, France. She is fluent in Amharic, French and English.
Sahle-Work, a veteran Ethiopian diplomat was once Ambassador to Senegal, with accreditation to Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Guinea, from 1989 to 1993.
From 1993 to 2002, she was Ambassador to Djibouti and Permanent Representative to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
She later served as Ambassador to France, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and accredited to Tunisia and Morocco from 2002 to 2006.
Zewde who has also served as Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peace Building Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA). Previously, held a number of other high level positions including as Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and as Director-General for African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.
In 2011, Zewde was appointed to the position of Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She was the first person to hold the post at the level of Under-Secretary-General.