Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu of Ethiopia has begun his second term as the executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), four years after first being appointed to the post.
He said in a post on X that November 29 was the first day of his second term at the helm of the east African regional organization.
“My duty for IGAD is to support the people of our region and its member states and my responsibility is to take care of my staff,” the bloc’s executive secretary said.
“Together, we shall deliver on our regional dream of peace, prosperity & regional integration,” he added.
Dr. Workneh was appointed IGAD’s chief in 2019, replacing Kenyan diplomat Mahboub Maalim.
Prior to that, he was Ethiopia’s minister of foreign affairs and transport.
Born in 1970 in the town of Shashamane in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, Dr. Workneh studied at Addis Ababa University where he obtained a Bachelor and Masters degree in International Relations.
He holds a PhD in Criminology from the University of South Africa (Unisa) in Pretoria.
Formerly called the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), current IGAD members are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
The regional trade bloc is headquartered in Djibouti.
