Berhanu Kebede (born 11 April 1956) is an Ethiopian diplomat who is the current Chief of Staff at RJMEC – Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission for the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.

Early life and education

Berhanu Kebede was born in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. He graduated in 1978 with a degree in economics from

Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, ...

and continued his studies at the

Free University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions * Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970 *Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...

, earning M.A. degrees in Development Economics (1986) and in Management and Finance (1988).

Career

He joined the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978, serving as Ethiopia/EEC Relations Desk Officer. In 1983 he was mandated to the Diplomatic Mission in Brussels, with the title of economist. Berhanu participated in negotiations leading to the 1981 and 1985 extensions of the

Lomé Convention The Lomé Convention is a trade and aid agreement between the European Economic Community (EEC) and 71 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, first signed in February 1975 in Lomé, Togo. History The first Lomé Convention (Lomé I) ...

– an agreement concerning international aid and trade between the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

– as well as participating in the committees that managed this convention. In 1992 Berhanu returned to Addis Ababa to lead the Western European Division at the Ministry at the rank of Counselor, before taking on the role of Acting Director General for International Organisation and Economic Cooperation in 1993. Later that year he was promoted to Director General, and it was in this role that he represented Ethiopia at all of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

Council and Summit conferences held between 1992 and 2000, as well as the

Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; french: link=no, Commission économique pour l'Afrique, CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its ...

Ministerial Conferences held in this period, chaired the Economic and Social Council meeting of the

African Economic Community The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade ...

in June 1998, and served as deputy leader of the Ethiopian delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

from 1993 to 2000. On 7 December 2000, he was appointed the Ethiopian ambassador to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. In February 2002, he was appointed Ambassador of Ethiopia to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. In March 2006 he was appointed as Ambassador of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, a position he held during 10 years. In 2016, H.E. Berhanu Kebede has been appointed Chief of Staff at JMEC – Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission for the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. Berhanu speaks

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

, English and French. He is married with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kebede, Berhanu 1956 births Living people Ambassadors of Ethiopia to Russia Ambassadors of Ethiopia to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Ethiopia to Sweden Ambassadors of Ethiopia to Norway Ambassadors of Ethiopia to Finland Ambassadors of Ethiopia to Denmark Addis Ababa University alumni