Mamo Mihretu, a former World Bank staffer and chief trade negotiator for Ethiopia at the World Trade Organization, has been appointed as the new Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). He replaces Dr. Yinager Dessie, who had held the position since June 2018. Mihretu recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), a state-owned investment firm established last year. He also worked as a senior policy advisor in the Prime Minister’s office. Mihretu was named by The Financial Times as one of the young technocrats leading Ethiopia’s ambitious reform drive in 2019.
The appointment of Mihretu as Governor of the NBE is part of a larger reshuffle of government officials in Ethiopia. Alemu Sime (PhD) has been named as the new Transport and Logistics minister, replacing Dagmawit Moges. Engineer Habtamu Tegegn and Dr Girma Amante have been appointed to lead the Mines and Agriculture ministries, respectively.
This reshuffle comes after the recent discharge of four ministers by the Council of Ministers and the resignation of Chief Justice Meaza Ashenafi and Deputy Chief Justice Solomon Areda. On Saturday, the Council of Ministers held a farewell ceremony for the departing ministers, which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attended.
Additionally, Tewdros Mihret has been appointed as the new Chief Justice, and Federal Supreme Court Judge, Abeba Embiale, has been appointed as the new Deputy Chief Justice. Veteran diplomat Ambassador Taye Atskesillassie, who recently served as the permanent representative of Ethiopia at the United Nations, has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Foreign Policy Adviser. Other appointments include Almtsehay Paulos as Head of the Office of the Prime Minister and Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Deacon Daniel Kibret as Social Affairs advisor to PM Abiy Ahmed, and Melese Alemu as a minister-level Coordinator of Center for Democratization.
