Ethiopia ruling coalition approves Hailemariam Desalegn as PM
Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:41pm GMT
* Hailemariam was widely seen as Meles' protege
* He is due to be sworn in next month (Adds details, background)
By Kumerra Gemechu
ADDIS ABABA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's ruling coalition on Saturday
approved Hailemariam Desalegn's appointment as prime minister to replace
Meles Zenawi, who died last month, the government's spokesman said.
He will be sworn in early next month when parliament reconvenes, Bereket
Simon told a news conference in the capital Addis Ababa.
Hailemariam, who took over in an acting capacity after Meles' death, also
becomes head of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
(EPRDF), the ruling coalition of parties.
The 47-year-old former university dean rose quickly through the ranks when
he turned to politics, serving as president of the Southern Nations,
Nationalities and People's Region in the southwest of the country from 2001
to 2006 before being named as an advisor to Meles.
His selection as Meles' deputy in 2010 was a major surprise, partly due to
his relatively young age. He was widely seen as the late leader's protege
and in recent years replaced Meles as chair of a number of parliamentary
committees.
After taking power in 1991 from Mengistu Haile Mariam's military junta,
guerrilla fighter Meles became one of the central political figures on the
continent and drove domestic economic growth into double figures.
An astute economist, Meles advocated a blend of heavy state spending and
foreign private investment, focusing lately on energy and infrastructure
projects.
However Ethiopia remains one of the world's biggest recipients of aid, and
average incomes are roughly a third of those elsewhere in sub-Saharan
Africa.
Many Ethiopians complain that while Meles forged closer business ties with
global powerhouses such as China, that did not translate into more jobs for
Ethiopians and about three-quarters of the population still live on less
than $2 a day. (Reporting by Kumerra Gemechu; Writing by George Obulutsa;
Editing by Kevin Liffey and Pravin Char)
