Ethiopian MPs appoint Meaza Ashenafi Federal High Court president
Ms Meaza Ashenafi has been appointed Ethiopia's first woman president of the Federal High Court. PHOTO | FANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION
What you need to know:
- The reformist prime minister, who came to power seven months ago, recently appointed 10 women to his 20-member Cabinet.
ADDIS ABABA
Ethiopia's parliament on Thursday appointed Ms Meaza Ashenafi the first woman president of the Supreme Court.
Ms Ashenafi, who was nominated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, was sworn in at the parliament in Addis Ababa.
The reformist prime minister, who came to power seven months ago, recently appointed 10 women to his 20-member Cabinet.
That was followed by the appointment of the first woman president, Ms Sahle-Work Zewdea, a week ago.
Ms Ashenafi, 54, served as a judge and more recently also worked as founder and board chairman of Enat Bank.
The founder of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association is based in Addis Ababa, where she has been working at the UN Economic Commission for Africa.
After obtaining her first degree from the Addis Ababa University, Ms Ashenafi proceeded to the US, where she received her masters in international relations from Kent University, according to her biography.
Parliament also Thursday approved the appointment of Mr Solomon Areda as the deputy president of the Federal High Court. Mr Solomon also studied both in Ethiopia and the US.
After his first degree in law from Addis Ababa University, Mr Solomon obtained two other degrees from Harvard University in the US.
Mr Solomon has been working at The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) and is also consults in law in many African countries.
