Ethiopia's Ruling Party Names Acting Prime Minister

On August 20th Ethiopia's long time ruler, Meles Zenawi, died of an"undisclosed illness". Due to this the party is appointing Hailemariam Desalegn as the next Prime Minister, since he is already acting as the nations prime Minister. Hailemariam is the chairman of Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front also know as the EPRDF. Many of the political leader in Ethiopia are sure that he will be sworn in soon, especially considering that the leading party securely holds 545 of the 547 seats in the Parliament. Many people are hoping that although, Meles had the intentions of Hailemariam to take his position and continue ruling as he had, that Hailemariam will change in some ways. The previous Meles was viewed as a tyrant by some due to his restrictions on many freedoms. Luckily for the population of Ethiopia, The International Crisis Group is predicting that Hailemariam will not be as decisive or pivotal as Meles and with this change in leadership will bring weaker government, "a more influential security apparatus and endangered internal stability". Other analysts suggest that Hailemariam will however be able to follow in favored domestic and foreign policies of Meles. It will be interesting to see if Hailemariam will be able to be a positive transition for Ethiopia and continue Meles success of helping the poverty level in the country. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ethiopias-ruling-party-names-acting-prime-minister-hailemariam-desalegn-its-new-leader/2012/09/15/29868502-ff54-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html?wprss=rss_social-world-headlines Michele Dobbs