ICC Note: A new Ethopian Prime Minister has been elected. Abiy Ahmed was sworn in on Monday. He is the first Oromo Prime Minister in Ethiopia, and there is hope that he will be able to bring peace to the very unsettled country.
04/03/2018 Ethiopia (AlJazeera) – Ethiopia’s parliament has elected Abiy Ahmed as the new prime minister, a week after the ruling coalition nominated him to succeed Hailemariam Desalegn.
Abiy was sworn in on Monday shortly after his election to become Africa’s second-most populous country’s 16th prime minister and the first Oromo to hold Ethiopia’s top seat.
Hailemariam resigned in February, following months of protests in the Oromia and Amhara region that led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
The protests, which initially began over land rights, but later broadened to include calls for greater political representation at the national level, met a harsh government response.
Abiy, 41, a former lieutenant-colonel in the army and head of Ethiopia’s science and technology ministry, has a reputation as an effective orator and reformer.
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