Beyene Petros is a professor of Biology at

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 a former member of the

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 ...

n House of People's Representatives, representing an electoral district in

Badawacho Badawacho was one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. A triangle-shaped exclave of the Hadiya Zone, Badawacho was bordered on the south by the Wolayita Zone, on the west and north by the Kembat ...

of Hadiya Zone. He is currently the chairman of one of the largest opposition political parties in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum

Medrek Medrek ( am, መድረክ), officially the Ethiopia Federal Democratic Unity Forum ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አንድነት መድረክ), is an Ethiopian political coalition founded in 2008 by former def ...

Personal life

Beyene was born on March 11, 1950 in Hadiya,

. He attended elementary and high school at local schools in southern Ethiopia. He received his BSc from

, MS from

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

and Ph.D. from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

all in Biology. Beyne joined the staff of

in 1979 when he became a Lecturer. Later he became a Professor of Biology in 2009.

Political career

Beyene joined politics in 1991 when the ruling EPRDF took power. He was then appointed deputy minister of Education but later resigned from government. He has been a major opposition political figure since 1995. Beyene was first elected to the parliament as member for Shone constituency in the May 2000 elections. In the 2003 parliament, he served as chairman for the combined Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia, the

Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic Coalition The Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Coalition is an opposition political coalition in Ethiopia based in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region. At the last legislative elections held on 15 May 2005, the Coalition was part of ...

, and the

Hadiya National Democratic Organization Hadiya may refer to : * Hadiya Zone, a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) * Hadiya Sultanate, an ancient kingdom located in South Western Ethiopia * Hadiyya language, a language spoken by the Hadiyya ...

. When parties joined to form the

United Ethiopian Democratic Forces The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ዴሞክራሲዊ ኃይሎቸ ሕብረት) was a coalition of several political parties in Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian general elections held ...

(UEDF) in 2004, Prof. Beyene became the chairman of the UEDF. He by now is serving as chairman for Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum (

). On 3 August 2018, Beyene was promoted to the new Government Privatisation Advisory Council to advise Prime Minister

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali ( om, Abiyi Ahmed Alii; am, አብይ አሕመድ ዐሊ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who has been the 4th prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia since 2 April 2018. He won the 2019 ...

concerning his new economic reforms.

References

External links

"Worrying Past, Bleak Year Ahead"
essay by Beyene Petros (''Addis Fortune'' website)
"ETHIOPIA: Interview with opposition MP Beyene Petros"
IRIN interview from 2002

Family

Beyene Patros is married and has four children, two girls and two boys. 1950 births Addis Ababa University faculty Members of the House of Peoples' Representatives Living people Ethiopian biologists United Ethiopian Democratic Forces politicians Medrek politicians {{Ethiopia-scientist-stub