On Monday, the Ethiopian Parliament elected Foreign Minister Taïe Atkeky Selassie as the new President of the country, a ceremonial position, succeeding Sahle-Work Zewde, whose term ends at the end of October.

The President of Ethiopia is officially the head of state, but their powers are symbolic and honorary, with most authority concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister.

Taïe Atkeky Selassie, 68, succeeds Sahle-Work Zewde, who became the first woman to hold this position in the East African nation in 2018.

After the vote, Parliament Speaker Tagesh Shafa announced, “Taïe Atkeky Selassie has been elected as the new President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,” with only five deputies abstaining from voting.