Ethiopia deputy PM Desalegn to succeed Meles Zenawi
Haile Mariam Desalegn, will be sworn in as Prime Minister. .
Aug 21, 2012, ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will take over interim power following the death of leader Meles Zenawi, the government spokesman told reporters Tuesday.
“According to the Ethiopian constitution the deputy prime minister will have to go to parliament and take the oath, and the government is organising the parliament to be summoned as soon as possible,” Bereket Simon said.
Parliament is normally scheduled to convene after the Ethiopian New Year on September 11.
Hailemariam, 47, has been deputy prime minister and foreign minister since 2010, and was previously special advisor on social affairs to Meles.
Unlike many core members of the ruling party, he does not hail from the far north of the country but from the Southern Nation, Nationalities and People’s Region, the most populous of Ethiopia’s nine ethnic regions.
Ethiopia has declared a state of national mourning, but has not fixed a date for a funeral.
“Up until the funeral takes place, the Ethiopian government council of ministers have decided to make it national mourning time for the remembrance of the Prime Minister,” Bereket added.
“We will have his whole funeral proceedings according to a plan prepared by a committee which deals with this.”
“I assure you everything is stable and everything will continue as chartered by the Prime Minster,” Bereket said.
Meles had not been seen in public for two months, and had been reported to have been sick in a hospital in Brussels. He was last seen in public at the G20 summit in Mexico in June.
Bereket gave no details of the illness but said Meles had been ill for the past year.
“He has been struggling to be healthy in the last year… one of the best things about him was that he never considered that he was ill and he was up to the job every time, every day, every evening,” he added.
“Illness has never been a hindrance for him, but he has been quite ill for some time.”
–AFP
Background
(wikipedia) Haile Mariam Desalegne is an Ethiopian politician who has served in the government of Ethiopia as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2010.
After the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on 20 August 2012, Desalegn was named acting prime minister. Haile Mariam Desalegn is the first Protestant Christian (Pentay) head of government in the history of Ethiopia.
Desalegn is from the Wolayta ethnic group of Ethiopia, which dominate the politics of Ethiopia’s southern region Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region. Ethnic Tigray, Amhara and mixed people of Ethiopia have traditionally dominated the politics of the country the last 200 years. Desalegn would be the first fully non-Tigray and non-Amhara head of Ethiopia’s government in the country’s history. Emperor Haile Selassie, born of Amhara, Oromo and Gurage ethnic groups, was the last mixed Ethiopian ruler.
Born in the Wolaita Zone Boloso Sore District of Southern Ethiopia, Desalegn studied and spent most of his youth in Wolaita.
He was President of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR) from November 2001 to March 2006 and was promoted as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in October 2010. He has been performing leadership roles as deputy Chairman of EPRDF, Chairman of SEPDM, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. His service term has been as follows: Public Offices: V/President of the SNNPR (2000–2002); President of the SNNPR (2002–2005); Member of the House of People’s Representatives (2005–present); Social Affairs Special Advisor to the PM, then Public Mobilization & Participation Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (2005–2008); Government Chief Whip, with a Ministerial portfolio (2008–2010). Party Posts: Member of the Executive Committee of the EPRDF and the SEPDM (2000–present); Chairman of the SEPDM (2002–present); Depty. Chairman of the EPRDF (since Sept 2010).
Desalegn obtained a bachelor degree in civil engineering from the Addis Ababa University in 1988. He subsequently worked as a graduate assistant in the Arba Minch Water Technology Institute (now Arba Minch University). After two years of working in this capacity, he won a scholarship to Tampere University of Technology in Finland and obtained a masters degree in sanitation engineering. Upon his return to Ethiopia he served in different academic and administrative capacities, including the dean of the Water Technology Institute, for 13 years.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he became seriously involved in politics as member of the EPRDF (Ethiopia’s ruling party) and became the deputy president of the SNNPR. He replaced Abate Kisho who was removed from power on corruption charges, but it is believed that Abate was demoted for supporting the anti-Meles Zenawi faction when the TPLF (the core of the EPRDF) split in 2000. Another widely accepted belief about Abate was that he was less educated and exercised poor leadership while he was in power.
After his tenure as President of the SNNPR, Desalegn worked in the Prime Minister’s Office as the advisor on Social Affairs and Civic Organizations and Partnerships for two years. In 2010 Haile Mariam was sworn in to dual ministerial positions as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
I am very happy that the entire Ethiopian people have seen the light at the end of the tunel. In the future, the power of the country will be in the hand of the Ethiopian people where the people will make a decision who is fit to lead the naton despite his ethinic back ground or religeon. Now at this time we are not sure if this will continue like this, th politics migh go in the wrong direction. Wayane put him in this position to buy time so that thy can re-organize the young tigrians for the 2015 to replace him. As an Ethiopian citizen we must work hard to shake the state to be free from Gangstoers ans TPLF must leave the power with out any preconditons. The power must be in the hand of the Ethiopian people. Now it migh seemes that he has a power but power is still in the hand of TPLF and we must work hard. The people of Ethiopia don’t have any problem with Desalegn personally and his leadership as long as he abide by the rules of law and freed the Ethiopian people and bring development and libration but the problem is that wayane is not letting him to do so all Ethiopians must support Desalegne for his leadership. Here is my recomandations: Desalenge must abide by the Constituion that gurantee the peoples right to self gevernment, have a sharing in the power, Must negotiate with all Ethiopians parties, must remove all TPLF generals and intelegencess from their post and replace them with young Ethiopians, must workd with all Ethinic groups to bring Ethiopia to next stage for democracy. If this will work, then the tension in Ethiopia will be released; otherwise this might escalate the turmoile in the region where every one is on the competion for power. To me it is upto the Ethiopian youth to bring democracy to the country. Equality and justice is good for every one it is a mutual benefit for all Ethiopians. Exploiting one another would not make any ethininic group superior or rich but we have seen historically what have ahpened to Melnilik, Helesellase, Derg, and Males. You can put your money in th another country’s bank but you are not sure if you can eat any of that dollar. It is Ethiopian blood that you are saving in the bank so make sure you don’t eat any it may mutate inside of you cause a cancer. Today we are happy that we have seen this. TPLF is down!!!
Wishes, wishes, wishes and more wishes like always. We have been wishing and wishing for the last 21 years until mother nature came to give hand assist just a bit.
Rather than uniting and with common front strongly apply pushes and pressures as hard as possible we may now succumb back to our usual sleeping and or reactive bickerings and wait for the next 21 years until the deputy PM is transformed in to the strongest head PM for life with all the personality cults built for him around the grand palace from behind the door of which the usual pathological power hungry cunning foxes secretly keep emtying the human and material resources of the country. Mark my word it is going to be business as usual by other means. Tell me folks as to why on earth any thing should change at all since it is NOT the opposition that brought about the prime ministers diparture and or even remotely participated actively in the process of putting in place even the deputy Pm so that he may feel duty bound to take in to consideration the broad interests of the Ethiopian people. Deputy PM was hand picked and personally appointed by the late PM and now after him by the PM’s party, the tplf. Hence, his loyalty is going to be crystal clear regardless of our wishful thinkings and day dreamings. Change may again come when the deputy probably faces the similar fate like the late PM because that is Ethiopian style.
Finally, we have got a leader that fear God. We pray for Godly Wisdom and peace for our new PM. May God bless the Ethiopia nation. We need a leader that fear God and the leader has love for God and his nation. PEACE 2 ALL!