The only four African women leaders to address the UN General Assembly

Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s parliament elected Sahle-Work Zewde to be the country’s first female president following the resignation of President Mulatu Teshome in 2018 and she is currently the only serving female head of state in Africa.

She is the most recent female head of state to address the UN General Assembly representing the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia at the 2019 UN General Debate. She touched on measures being put in place for a long and flourishing democracy.

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“We have enlarged the political space, releasing jailed political prisoners and journalists; inviting exiled political parties to return home and pursue their peaceful struggle; revising electoral, counter-terrorism and civil society laws; and ending the 20-year conflict with Eritrea,” Zewde said.

Zewde has served for a long time in the world of diplomacy representing Ethiopia in many African countries. She is known for bridging gender gaps and has been praised for her works with UN peacekeeping troops not forgetting her efforts to get more women involved in peacekeeping missions.

Zewd is the second woman to hold an Ambassadorial position in the history of Ethiopia and has served in French-speaking African countries like Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea, and Djibouti, as well as France.