Abiy Ahmed

Abiy Ahmed Ali (born 15 August 1976) became Prime Minister of Ethiopia on 2 April 2018 after the resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn and his election as chair of the then-ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). He is Ethiopia's first Oromo prime minister and previously served as a military intelligence officer and as Minister of Science and Technology.

His first months in office were marked by a rapid liberalisation agenda branded Medemer ("synergy"): releasing political prisoners, unbanning opposition groups such as the OLF and Ginbot 7, appointing a cabinet that was 50% women, and lifting media restrictions. In July 2018 he signed a joint declaration with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki formally ending the state of war that had persisted since the 1998–2000 border conflict. For this rapprochement he was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

In late 2019 he dissolved the EPRDF coalition and merged most of its components into the new Prosperity Party; the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) refused to join. Tensions with Tigray's regional government escalated into armed conflict on 4 November 2020, when federal forces launched operations following an attack on the Northern Command base in Mekelle. The ensuing Tigray War drew in Eritrean troops and Amhara regional forces, caused widespread civilian harm documented by the UN and the joint OHCHR–EHRC inquiry, and ended with the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed on 2 November 2022 under African Union mediation led by Olusegun Obasanjo.

Abiy's government has since faced renewed insurgency in Amhara region (Fano militias) and continued tension with Oromo Liberation Army factions. He has also pushed assertively for Ethiopian sea access, signing a January 2024 memorandum of understanding with Somaliland that Somalia rejected as a violation of its sovereignty, complicating Horn of Africa diplomacy.