Samuel Urkato Kurke (; born 1 September 1974) 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 is serving as the commissioner of the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission since 2021. He was president of

Wolaita Sodo University Wolaita Sodo University () is a public university in Wolaita Sodo, South Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia. It is approximately 339 kilometers (210.65 mile) far from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in southwest direction. It is one of the second generation ...

in 2016 before becoming Ministry of Mines and Petroleum in 2018, and has been Minister of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE) from August 2020 until the ministry merge into

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

on 6 October 2021.

Background

Samuel was born in

Wolaita Sodo Sodo () or officially Wolaita Sodo (, ) is a city in south Ethiopia. The city is a political and administrative center of the Wolaita Zone and South Ethiopia Regional State. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between above ...

. He has a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

Hawassa University Hawassa University (HU) () is a residential national university in Hawassa, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. It is approximately south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Ethiopia), Ministry of Science and Higher Edu ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Economics (Development Policy Analysis) from

Mekelle University Mekelle University () is a higher education and training public institution located in Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, 783 kilometers north of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. Mekelle University is one of the largest public universities in Ethio ...

, and attended a PhD exchange student program in Resource and Agricultural Economics at

Kangwon National University Kangwon National University (KNU, ) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities in Gangwon, South Korea. History Initially established as an agricultural college, Kangwon National University has steadily expanded to the comprehensive ...

, in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. He attended a PhD exchange study at

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...

in McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, and completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in the

Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa University (; AAU) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, and one is located in Bishoftu, about away. ...

Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance. Samuel became president of

in 2016, before his direct nomination as Minister of Mines and Petroleum in October 2018 following national reform that held by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali (; ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who is the current Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 2018 and the leader of the Prosperity Party since 2019. He rose through the ranks of government via the Information Networ ...

. On 18 August 2020, he became the Minister of Science and Higher Education following reshuffle of cabinet ministers. On 9 October 2021, he was elected as Commissioner of the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel Urkato 21st-century Ethiopian politicians Ministers of science and higher education Wolayita Ministers of Mines and Petroleum Living people 1977 births People from Wolayita Zone Hawassa University alumni Mekelle University alumni Addis Ababa University alumni

Background

See also

References