The Acting Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, spoke briefly to the press on Monday, for the first time about the sudden and untimely death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, he said, had spent his life struggling for development , progress, equality and justice and had shown wise leadership throughout his time in office, “working to establish a democratic developmental state on a concrete foundation “.
He said that the people of Ethiopia were a living witness to “the wise leadership that had brought about the implementation of polices and strategies to produce tremendous changes over the past ten years”. Ato Hailemariam hailed Meles’ leadership saying that he had “lived his life burning like a candle for the good of his people”.
“The loss of his exceptional leadership is great – a leader like him is a once in a lifetime phenomenon”, he added.
The Acting Prime Minister vowed that in order to “implement government policies and strategies the leadership will work with more vigor, utilizing the skills and knowledge developed through Meles’ wise leadership over the past two decades”.
He said that this loss would leave a void that was difficult to fill, particularly given Prime Minister Meles’s dynamic role at a national, continental and even global level.
Nevertheless, he stressed, the members of the government and leadership of the country would work together, collectively contributing their level best to implement the polices and strategies already laid down. Acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will be sworn in as a Prime Minister in an extraordinary session which has been called for this occasion.
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Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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