Head of Government

H. E. Meles Zenawi 
Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

H.E. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was born on 8th May 1955 in Adwa -Tigray Region, northern Ethiopia. He attended his elementary education at the Queen of Sheba Junior Secondary School in Adwa and completed High School in 1972 at General Wingate Vocational and Academic School in Addis Ababa. He then joined the Medical Faculty of Addis Ababa University where he studied for two years. Meles interrupted his studies in 1974 to join the Tigrai Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), where he was elected to the Central Committee of the TPLF in 1979 and to its Executive Committee in 1983. He became a Chairperson of both the TPLF and the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since 1989. He perused his higher studies in Open University of the United Kingdom and awarded a First Class M.A. in Business Administration in 1995 and MSc. in Economics from the Erasmus University of the Netherlands in 2004.

 

As a political leader Prime Minister Meles served/is working as: 

  • President of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia and Chairman of the Council of Representatives from 1991 to 1995,  
  • Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1995 and reelected for a second term in 2005,  
  • Chairperson of the Organisation of the African Union and later the African Union,  
  • to date Chairperson of the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)  
  • Co-chairman of the Global Coalition for Africa, peace and reconciliation coordinator to resolve conflicts in the Sudan and Somalia,  
  • one of the key leaders of the African initiatives to solve crises in Burundi,  
  • one of the Commissioners of the UK's Prime Minister Tony Blair's Commission for Africa in 2004, 
  • representative of Africa at the G8 and G20 Summits,  
  • Chief African Negotiator of the current Global Climate Changes international negotiations.

 

Recognition of services

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, has received several local and international awards for excellence of performance, setting reliable foundations in the process of promoting the development of Ethiopia. Namely: 

  • Before he joined the Medical Faculty of Addis Ababa University, he was awarded the Haile Selassie I Prize Trust, a highly selective award given only to the most outstanding graduating students,  
  • The Rwanda’s National Liberation Medal, the "Uruti," in July 2009 for helping to liberate Rwanda and end the genocide in the country. Alongside two other African leaders, Meles was also given Rwanda's highest accolade, the "Umurinzi" medal, Rwanda’s Campaign Against Genocide Medal,  
  • The World Peace Prize for his contributions for global peace and his effort to stabilize the Horn of Africa through cooperation with Inter-Governmental Authority for Development(IGAD),  
  • Tabor 100, an African American entrepreneur’s organization, honored him for his contribution toward economic and social transformation in Africa with its prestigious Crystal Eagle International Leadership Award in April 2005,  
  • Awarded the “Good Governance Award" of the Global coalition for Africa in respect for leading Ethiopia in a democratic path during the challenging period of transition,  
  • Selected for the good governance award by the US-based Corporate Council on Africa,  
  • Received the Norway-based 2005 "Yara Prize for Green Revolution", Yara for initiating a good foundation for economic progress in Ethiopia, particularly on the agricultural sector productivity, he donated his $200,000 financial award to a foundation called "Fre-Addis Ethiopia Women Fund" (Fre-Addis Ethiopia Yesetoch Merja Mahiber),  
  • Received the "Africa Political Leadership Award" of 2008 by the US-based newspaper Africa Times,  Ethiopia’s military award for his leadership during the 1998-2000 Eritrean invasion,  
  • Residents of the town of Axum in Ethiopia awarded him for his political and diplomatic leadership role to the return and re-erection of the Obelisk of Axum after 68 years stay in Rome, Italy,  
  • Received the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) Gold Order of Merit award in February 2007.