Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday appointed the former head of war-hit Tigray’s interim administration as defence minister, one of several shake-ups in his new government’s 22-member cabinet
Abiy, who was sworn in for a second term on Monday, also tapped a new head of the peace ministry, which has often served as the public face of humanitarian operations in northern Ethiopia, where the UN estimates conflict has driven hundreds of thousands of people into famine-like conditions.
The cabinet was approved by a majority vote in the lower house of parliament, with two votes against and 12 abstentions.
Abiy came to power in 2018 on the back of several years of anti-government protests.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, but last year long-running tensions between Abiy and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated national politics before Abiy took office, erupted into open conflict.
After driving the TPLF from Tigray’s towns last November, Abiy struggled to establish a federally-appointed interim administration in the northern region.
In a stunning about-turn, the TPLF recaptured most of Tigray including the regional capital Mekele by late June, and federal forces largely withdrew, but the conflict has spread to neighbouring regions.
