page_title: Hailemariam Desalegn
section_title: Appointment
hierarchical_section_title: Hailemariam Desalegn / Political career / Prime Minister of Ethiopia / Appointment
caption_attribution_description: English: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet His Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and Ms. Roman Tesfaye, in the Blue Room during a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit dinner at the White House, Aug. 5, 2014. [Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon] This official White House photograph is in the public domain from a copyright perspective, so while restrictions such as personality or privacy rights may apply, in general, manipulations are allowed.
context_page_description: Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe is an Ethiopian politician who served as 9th Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018. He also previously served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi from 2010 to 2012. After Meles' death in August 2012, Hailemariam succeeded him as Prime Minister, initially in an acting capacity. He was then elected as the Chair of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, the ruling party, on 15 September 2012. Hailemariam also served as the Chairperson of the African Union from 2013 to 2014.
  He submitted his resignation as Prime Minister of Ethiopia and EPRDF chairperson on 15 February 2018 in response to the fallout from mass protests and unrest in 2016. His resignation was accepted on 11 March 2018, but he stayed in office as caretaker Prime Minister until 2 April 2018. Hailemariam is the first ruler in modern Ethiopian history to step down; previous leaders have died in office or been overthrown. He said he wanted to clear the way for reforms.
context_section_description: Following the death of Ethiopia's longtime Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on 20 August 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam was appointed as the acting Premier. Hailemariam became the permanent Prime Minister on 21 September 2012.
  European Parliament President Martin Schulz, after meeting with Hailemariam, said that his desire "to strengthen democracy in the country, allowing for greater pluralism and a freer civil society, to uphold the freedoms enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution" was clear.
caption: Hailemariam and Roman Tesfaye in U.S-Africa Leaders Summit dinner at the White House, Aug. 5, 2014
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