Abiy Ahmed
Ali,
1976–, Ethiopian political leader. Joining the Ethiopian army in 1993, he served in the
intelligence service, the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, and the border war between
Ethiopia and Eritrea. A member of the Oromo People's Democratic Organization within the ruling
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), he was the founding director of the
Ethiopian Information Network Security Agency (2007–10), was elected to the Ethiopian
house of representatives (2010), and was named minister of science and technology (2017). In
2018, following antigovernment protests in the regions of Oromia and Amhara, Abiy became EPRDF
chairman and prime minister, becoming the first Oromo to hold the post. Abiy subsequently
ended the state of emergency, freed political prisoners, announced economic reforms, and
resolved the border dispute and reestablished diplomatic relations with Eritrea. In 2019 he
was awarded Nobel Peace Prize especially for his efforts to resolve the border conflict with
Eritrea. However, from 2020-21, Abiy's reputation was seriously tarnished as his government
battled with Tigrayan rebels. In Nov. 2021, he declared a state of emergency, clamping down
on this ethnic group, as their soldiers approached Ehtiopia's capital.
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