Ambassador Taye Atskeselassie Appointed as the New President of Ethiopia
Ambassador Taye Atskeselassie, who has been serving as Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister for the past eight months, has officially been appointed as the sixth President of Ethiopia.
His appointment was confirmed during the opening ceremony of the 6th House of People’s Representatives and the 4th year of the Federation Council.
At the joint session of the two legislative houses, Ambassador Taye Atskeselassie was sworn in as the new President, following the conclusion of President Sahle-Work Zewde’s term.
In a formal ceremony, Ambassador Taye took the oath of office in the presence of both houses, assuming his new responsibilities alongside outgoing President Sahle-Work Zewde.
Ambassador Taye has had a long and distinguished career in diplomacy and public service.
Over the years, he has held several key positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ethiopian embassies around the world.
Early in his career, he worked in the European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served as the Head of the Western Europe Department and Acting Director of Information.
He also worked as a consultant at Ethiopia’s Federal Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, and later as a consulate officer at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
In 2004, Ambassador Taye was appointed as Ethiopia’s Consul General in Los Angeles, and in 2008, he became the Director General of European and American Affairs.
His notable career trajectory continued when he was appointed as Ethiopia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in 2018.
Throughout his diplomatic career, he also served as Ethiopia’s Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Egypt and as the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Most recently, before becoming President, Ambassador Taye worked as the Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Policy Adviser and served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Outgoing President Sahle-Work Zewde, who has held the presidency for the past six years, recently shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) with a cryptic message saying, “Silence is my answer.”
She hinted that she had chosen to remain silent for the past year, but refrained from providing details about the reasons behind her silence or what had transpired during her final year in office.
The President’s Office later clarified that the post shared by President Sahle-Work Zewde reflected her personal views and should not be interpreted as an official statement from the office.
Ambassador Taye’s appointment marks a new chapter in Ethiopia’s leadership, as he takes over from President Sahle-Work, the first woman to hold the position in the country’s history.
