Ethiopian parliament elects first female president

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopian members of parliament have elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the country's first female president, replacing Mulatu Teshome, who resigned today.

Ambassador Sahlework currently serves as Special Representative of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union at the level of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

She was the first person to hold the post at the level of Under-Secretary-General.

She served as Ambassador to Senegal, with accreditation to Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, and Guinea, from 1989 to 1993.

From 1993 to 2002, she was Ambassador to Djibouti and Permanent Representative to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

She later served as Ambassador to France, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and accredited to Tunisia and Morocco from 2002 to 2006.

She also served as Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA).

Previously, she also held a number of other high-level positions including as Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and as Director-General for African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

In 2011, Ambassador Sahlework was appointed to the position of Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.