Country of birth

Ethiopia

Industry

Politics and diplomacy

Notable achievements

Sahle-Work Zewde is the first female president of Ethiopia, elected unanimously by members of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly in 2018. She is also one of two women appointed as an ambassador both for the communist People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and for the post-civil war Transitional Government of Ethiopia.

Early Life and Education

Sahle-Work Zewde was born in 1950 in Addis Ababa. She is of Amhara and Gurage origin. She’s the eldest of four children and attended elementary and secondary school in Addis Ababa. She then studied at the University of Montpellier in France. She is fluent in English, French, and Amharic.

Early Career

Sahle-Work Zewde served as Ambassador to Senegal from 1989 to 1993. She then served as Ambassador to Djibouti until 2002, and later on as Ambassador to France with various accreditations. 

Other prominent positions held by Shale Word Zewde include; Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Director-General for African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, and Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) at the level of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (the first woman to hold the post).

Achievements in her field

In 2011, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Sahle-Work as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). Under her supervision, the Nairobi office became an important UN hub for East and Central Africa.

In 2018, following the sudden retirement of Ethiopia’s then-president Mulatu Teshome, the Prime Minister appointed Sahle-Work to the post. The Federal Parliamentary Assembly of Ethiopia unanimously approved her appointment, making her the first female president and the fourth president since the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was established in 1995. 

During COVID, she pardoned more than 5,500 prisoners in an effort to minimize the spread of the pandemic.

As Chair of the International Commission on the Futures of Education, Sahle-Work has a forward-thinking approach and has worked to ensure that Africans have access to widespread educational opportunities.

Recognition

Forbes named Sahle-Work Zewde the 93rd most powerful woman in the world in 2019.