Tuesday May 28, 2024
Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States , Seleshi Bekele, speaking on the occasion of Adwa Victory Celebration in Washington DC. (Photo : Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy)
In what is said to be unusual practice for Ethiopian Ambassadors, Seleshi Bekele – Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the United States – is reportedly resigning as Ambassador and from all government structures.
The Reporter, local news source, reported that the resignation application he tendered is accepted. It is unclear when he tendered his resignation letter to the government.
Not much is known about why he opted for resigning after nearly two years of service in the position. It was in 2022, that Abiy Ahmed removed him from his position as Minister for Irrigation and Water Resources for reasons not known to the public. He is said to have a better social acceptance from among the ruling party officials on grounds of his contribution in the negotiation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
In the ruling party political traditions, politicians are relegated to Ambassadorial positions when there is a “misconduct” in the party/government structure for political or other reasons – including corruption. There were views that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed saw Seleshi Bekele as a threat in the cabinet- the alleged reason for his removal as Minister for Irrigation and Water Resources. In the case of Seleshi Bekele, there are speculations that Abiy Ahmed removed him from the position due to the growing popularity of the former. Abiy Ahmed’s government supporters, on the other hand, allege that Seleshi was not performing well as the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy of Ethiopia
The report from Reporter indicated that he is planning to Work on his own outside of the government practicing his profession – as an Engineer . Before he joined the government as a non-political party member – reportedly by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalgne invitation in connection with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)- he worked for the United Nations. In the Ethiopian government structure, he served as Chief Negotiator and Advisor on Transboundary Rivers and GERD at the Office of Prime Minister of Ethiopia. It is unclear if he will no longer be in Ethiopia’s negotiating team in GERD.
Ambassador Seleshi Bekele has not yet remarked about acceptance of his resignation. Local sources also indicated that he will be replaced by Lencho Bati – a politician with a radical ethnic Oromo nationalism background. Lencho Bati was among the founders and key leaders of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). He is currently serving as Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.