Mulatu Teshome Wirtu (; ; born 1957) is an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

politician who was

president of Ethiopia The president of Ethiopia is the head of state of Ethiopia. The position is largely ceremonial with executive power vested in the Council of Ministers (Ethiopia), Council of Ministers chaired by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, prime minister. T ...

from 2013 to 2018.

Biography

International student card of Mulatu Teshome at Peking University

Mulatu was born in the town of Arjo in

Welega Province Welega (also spelled Wollega; ; ) was a province in western Ethiopia, with its capital city at Nekemte. It was named for the Wollega Oromo, who are the majority of the population within its boundaries. Welega was bordered on the west by Sudan, ...

. He was educated in China, receiving his bachelor's degree in philosophy of

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

and doctorate in

international politics International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

. He received his Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student b ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

in 1990. He taught at some "foreign universities and institutions", according to Speaker

Abadula Gemeda Abadula Gemeda (; ; born 5 July 1958) is an Ethiopian politician who was the speaker of the House of Peoples' Representatives, the lower chamber of the Ethiopian Parliament, from 2010 to 2018. Previously, from 2005 to 2010, he was President o ...

. In the mid-1990s he was Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Cooperation under Minister Girma Birru, and he was appointed as

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

in 2001. He was also Speaker of the

House of Federation The House of Federation () is the upper house of the bicameral Federal Parliamentary Assembly, the parliament of Ethiopia. It has 112 members. Each Nation, Nationality and People shall be represented in the House of the Federation by at least ...

from 2002 to 2005. He served as Ethiopia's Ambassador to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. While serving as Ambassador to Turkey, he was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

as President of Ethiopia by a unanimous parliamentary vote on 7 October 2013. Girma Seifu of the Unity for Democracy and Justice, the sole opposition member of parliament, welcomed his election. Like his predecessors

Girma Wolde-Giorgis Girma Wolde-Giorgis (; 28 December 1924 – 15 December 2018) was an Ethiopian politician who was the president of Ethiopia from 2001 to 2013. He was the second person to hold the office of president since the founding of the Federal Democrati ...

and

Negasso Gidada Negasso Gidada Solon (; 8 September 1943 – 27 April 2019) was an Ethiopian politician who was the president of Ethiopia from 1995 until 2001. Biography Negasso was the son of Gidada Solon, one of the first local ministers of a Protestant chu ...

, he is

Oromo Oromo may refer to: * Oromo people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia and Kenya * Oromo language, an Afroasiatic language See also * *Orma (clan), Oromo tribe *Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homelan ...

. Mulatu has one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulatu Teshome 1955 births Ambassadors of Ethiopia to China Ambassadors of Ethiopia to Japan Ambassadors of Ethiopia to Turkey Government ministers of Ethiopia Living people Oromo people Presidents of Ethiopia Peking University alumni Beijing Language and Culture University alumni Ethiopian Orthodox Christians Ethiopian Oriental Orthodox Christians Oromo Democratic Party politicians Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front politicians Speakers of the House of Federation Ambassadors of Ethiopia to Azerbaijan People from Oromia 20th-century Ethiopian politicians 21st-century Ethiopian politicians