Muferihat Kamil, new Ethiopian parliament speaker -- Photo: FBC
The Ethiopian parliament has elected its first female speaker on Thursday after approving the 29-member cabinet including three women appointed by the new prime minister Abiy Ahmed.
42-year-old Muferihat Kamil, a former Minister of Women’s Affairs, replaces Abadula Gemeda who has served as Speaker since 2010, reports state media FBC.
She has served various roles as a member of the Southern Ethiopia Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM) within the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition since 2008.
Her election as the first female speaker adds to the major structural changes being experienced in Ethiopia including the country’s first ethnic Oromo prime minister Abiy Ahmed.
Ahmed reshuffled the cabinet by bringing in 10 new members including three women and maintaining 19 ministers. He moved the defence minister Sirage Fergesa to the Ministry of Transport and replaced him with another Oromo politician Motuma Mekassa.
“We shall be able to respond to the demands of the people of the country, and this is one of the motives behind the appointment and reshuffle,’’ Ahmed told the parliament on Thursday during the swearing in of new appointees.
The parliament is made up of 547 members, all from the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) which is a coalition of four regional parties.
For Mother's Day, NFL rookie 'Kool-Aid' McKinstry decided to fill her mom’s world with joy…
The National Small Business Week awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., selected Iam C. Tucker of…
Chrishalea Farley, a 39-year-old Instacart driver from McDonough, Georgia, has become an internet sensation after…
When Jennifer Flewellen woke up from a five-year coma in August 2022, her son Daeton,…
A Kentucky high school senior, Emeka “Emmanuel” Mwakadi, who was ordered to return to class…
Meet Thomson Mpinganjira; he is a Malawian entrepreneur who has built a multimillion-dollar empire. The…
Metro Boomin has made history as the first producer to perform at the Great Pyramids,…
Marie Fowler is convinced that God called her to spend the last three years learning…
A 26-year-old Florida man could spend the rest of his life in prison after he…
The oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Viola Ford Fletcher, was surrounded by…
A 41-year-old Mississippi man was sentenced to death for torturing and murdering his 2-year-old stepson…
Ace Liam, a one-year-old Ghanaian, has clinched the Guinness World Record for the Youngest Male…
Latonya Johnson and her 21-year-old daughter Laila Birchett are celebrating their graduation from Rutgers School…
Tributes have been pouring in from boxing greats for Sherif Lawal who passed away after…
Jordan Benston is the founder, owner, and operator of The Oracle Media, a black female-owned…