Ethiopia Has Its First Female President, And She’s Pretty Badass

Posted on October 25, 2018, at 11:30 a.m. ET

NAIROBI — Ethiopia’s parliament has voted in its first female president, and even though the position is considered a ceremonial one, people are excited about it.

Sahle-Work Zewde, who becomes the only woman head of state in Africa, currently serves as the under-secretary-general of the UN (the third-highest rank at the UN). She’s also the special representative to the secretary general of the African Union, and in June topped off her CV by becoming the head of the UN Office to the African Union.

She replaces former Ethiopian president Mulatu Teshome, who abruptly resigned from his post on Wednesday.

Sahle-Work, 68, has also previously worked as the Ethiopian ambassador to Senegal, France, and Djibouti.

Africans on Twitter have been cheering Sahle-Work’s newest position.

Piper Jones

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