Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was sworn in on Friday and immediately promised to stick to his predecessor Meles Zenawi’s development agenda.
Desalegn was unanimously endorsed as the new PM during an extraordinary parliamentary session following his election as chairman of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
Before his elevation he doubled up as Foreign Affairs minister and Deputy Prime Minister since he joined the late Meles’ government in 2010. He became the first member of a minority ethnic group to lead Ethiopia.
The PM pledged to work with other opposition parties and the media during his term.
He told the MPs that the appointment was a “great victory” and opportunity to maintain Meles’ legacy.
Desalegn would be deputised by Demeke Mokonnen who is also an Education minister.
Meles Zenawi died on August 20 at a Brussels hospital after a long illness and was buried on September 2.
Hailemariam Desalegn, a protestant Christian comes from the minority Wolayta ethnic group found in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, where he was president for five years.
