Girme Wolde Giorgis, President of Ethiopia
Born in 1917* in Addis Ababa, Girme Wolde Giorgis attended the church school and later joined the Teferi Mekonnen School in Addis Ababa in 1926 where he followed his education until the Italian invasion. Between 1930-1933, he studied at an Italian school "The scuola Principe Piemonte" in Addis Ababa. Between 1942 and 1944, he received certificates in Management (in Holland), in Air Traffic Management (in Sweden) and Air Traffic Control (in Canada) under a training programme sponsored by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Government Experience
- in 1933 he was enlisted at the Ethiopian Military Radio Communication set up by U.K.
- in 1936 graduated from the Genet Military School as a Sub-Lieutenant
- joined the Air Force in 1938 and took various Air Management courses
- became assistant teacher in Air Navigation and Flight Control in 1940
- became head of Civil Aviation of the Federal Government of Eritrea in 1947
- assumed the post of Director General of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation in 1949 and was Board member of the Ethiopian Airlines during the same period.
- became Director General of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Planning at the time of establishment in 1951
- became member of parliament in 1953
- was elected president of the parliament for three consecutive years.
- helped win a seat for the Ethiopian Parliament in the International Parliamentary Union and attended conferences of the IPU in Switzerland, Denmark and former Yugoslavia and was elected as Vice President of the 52nd Meeting of the International Parliamentary Union.
- represented the business community in the Civil consultative Commission set-up by the Dergue until it was dissolved in 1967.
- served as Manager of the Import and Export Enterprise (IMPEX).
- served as deputy Commissioner of the Peace Programme drawn up in 1969 by the provisional military government to settle the Eritrean problem peacefully.
- became member of the Council of Peoples Representatives of FDRE after winning in the Becho Woreda constituency, West Shoa Zone of Oromia State, as a private candidate in the second round elections in 1992.
Non-Government Experience 1957 - 1966
- Board member of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce
- Representative for Australian Trade Mission in Ethiopia
- Founder and Director of the Ghibe Agricultural Association
- Founder and Director of the Keffa and Illubabor Timber Processing Industry
While in Eritrea before 1982
- President of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society- Eritrea Branch
- Board President of Cheshire Home
- Managing Director of Leprosy Control Organization
Up on returning to Ethiopia from Eritrea in 1982, he served as Board Member of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and Head of its International Logistics Department.
Launched an environmental protection association called 'Lem Ethiopia' in 1983 to date serving as Vice President of the Board of the Association.
The President of Ethiopia speaks Oromiffa, Amharic, Tigrigna, Italian, English and French.
He is married with five children
* All years are in the Ethiopian Calendar.
