Ethiopian Female Leaders

Sahle-Work Zewde is an Ethiopian diplomat and politician. In 2018, she became the first woman to be elected to the president's office in Ethiopia and has been serving as the president of Ethiopia since then. Sahle-Work Zewde has been featured on Forbes magazine's World's 100 Most Powerful Women list.

Zinash Tayachew is an Ethiopian politician, gospel singer, and philanthropist. She is currently serving as the First Lady of Ethiopia. As the First Lady, Tayachew is committed towards alleviating the difficulties faced by children in Ethiopia. Zinash Tayachew also works for the disabled.  

Ethiopian politician Birtukan Mideksa began her career as a judge. She chairs the National Election Board of Ethiopia and is a founder-leader of the party Unity for Democracy and Justice. She has spent 7 years in exile in the US after being jailed in Ethiopia for voting irregularities in the 2005 election.

Ethiopian politician Muferihat Kamil is the incumbent Minister of Labour and Skills Development in Ethiopia. She was the first woman to hold office as Speaker of the House of People's Representatives in Ethiopia. Muferihat also served as Leader of SEPDM; and as first Minister of Peace, a position that led her to oversee agencies like NISS and Federal Police Commission.

A qualified civil engineer, Ethiopian politician Aisha Mohammed Mussa is the country’s current minister of irrigation and lowland areas development. She has previously led the country as its first female defense minister and has also been Ethiopia’s minister of urban development and construction.

A member of the banned left-wing paramilitary group Tigray People's Liberation Front, Ethiopian politician Keria Ibrahim has also headed women’s affairs. She also served as the Speaker of the House of Federation until she resigned and then surrendered to the federal forces, which accused her of treason and corruption.