Ambassador Taye Atskeselassie is the new President of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia - Courtesy

Ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie has been elected today, 7^th October 2024, as the new president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, replacing his predecessor Sahle-Work Zewde, who completed her tenure in office.

The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that President Taye was elected at the joint opening session of the 6^th House of People’s Representatives (HoPR) and House of Federation (HoF) 4th-year tenure.

He was also sworn in as the new president of the country and received the country’s constitution from his predecessor Sahle-Work Zewde.

The joint opening session of the two houses for the current fiscal year is being held in the presence of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the outgoing president Sahle-Work Zewde, speakers of the two houses, parliamentarians and guests.

President Taye is currently presenting the federal government’s annual plan for the current fiscal year, followed by further deliberations among MPs.

It is known that Ambassador Taye is currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

H.E. Sahlework Zewde

​Sahle-Work Zewde was elected as the fifth President and first woman President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on 25 October 2018.

She began her career in the Ministry of Education and later joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988.

Sahle-Work began her long diplomatic career as Ambassador to Senegal with accreditation to Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and the Gambia.

She served as Ambassador in Djibouti and as Permanent Representative to the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for 10 years.

Sahle-Work was subsequently appointed as Ambassador of Ethiopia to France, Tunisia and Morocco and Permanent Representative to UNESCO.

After her return to Ethiopia, she was appointed Permanent Representative to the African Union and Director General for African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

President Sahle-Work Zewde joined the United Nations in 2009 and served as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) thus becoming the first African woman to become an SRSG.

In 2011, she was appointed as the first dedicated Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON) at the level of Under-Secretary-General.

In June 2018, she was appointed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU).

Sahle-Work was the first woman to hold these two positions.