Ethiopian intelligence chief Temesgen approved as deputy prime minister

Addis Ababa —Ethiopia's parliament on Thursday approved the appointment of intelligence service chief Temesgen Tiruneh as deputy prime minister, replacing Demeke Mekonnen, who had served in the role for 11 years.

Parliament also accepted the nomination of Taye Atske Selassie, a former ambassador to the UN, as foreign minister. Demeke served as foreign minister since 2020.

Temesgen, who has co-ordinated the government’s response to conflict that erupted last year in the Amhara region, was elected in late January to succeed Demeke as vice-president of the ruling Prosperity Party.

The party’s vice-presidents typically serve as deputy prime ministers.

Ethiopia’s national security adviser, Redwan Hussein, was chosen to replace Temesgen as head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), Ethiopia’s top spy agency.

A long-time ally of Abiy, Redwan was also the lead government negotiator during the peace deal brokered in Pretoria to end the civil war in the Tigray region in 2022. He has also served as a state minister at the foreign affairs ministry and also as Ethiopia’s ambassador to Eritrea.

Demeke was a face of continuity in a turbulent period in Ethiopian politics. He was appointed deputy prime minister after longtime prime minister Meles Zenawi died in 2012, and survived reorganisation of the ruling party after Abiy came to power in 2018.

Abiy appointed Demeke foreign minister days after civil war broke out in November 2020 in the northern Tigray region. The conflict lasted two years and killed tens of thousands of people.

Mekdes Daba, a former World Health Organisation official, has also been appointed to replace Lia Tadesse as health minister, reports the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation.

Reuters