Ethiopia: Premier Appoints Aide New Investment Chief

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has appointed one of his aides to serve as the new investment commission, replacing Fistume Arega.

Abebe Abebayehu, a lawyer by training, is the new Commissioner of the the Ethiopian Investement Commission (EIC). He had served as a deputy before he was moved to the Prime Minister Office, following his former boss, Fistume, a capable technocrat now assigned to serve as Ethiopia's ambassador to the United States.

Abebe has been serving as senior legal advisor at the Office of the Prime Minister lately. He has more than a decade of experience working on private sector development, economic policy and regulatory reform, negotiations of international trade and investment agreements, academic research and teaching. At the Commission, he led the policy research, investment promotion and investment climate reform workstreams. Before he joined the Commission, he was working at the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, where he spearheaded the effort to establish a structured public-private-dialogue in Ethiopia. His past role included Lecturer in Law at Addis Ababa University, Law School.

In college, he finished top of his class and received the Chancellor's Gold Medal Award from the Addis Abeba University. Abebe has LL.M in International Trade and Investment Law from the University of Western Cape, South Africa and LL.M in Energy Law and Policy from the University of Dundee, United Kingdom, both of which he finished with distinction. Read more...