Regina Abelt (; born 12 May 1954) is a German-born public figure who served as the first
First Lady of Ethiopia from 22 August 1995 until 8 October 2001.
Background
Abelt was born in Germany. She worked as an aid worker in
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
from 1979 to 1983. Abelt was one of the many foreign nurses working in the western
Oromia Region where she met her future husband, Dr.
Negasso Gidada, who was also a student at Germany's
Goethe University Frankfurt
Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...
. Even though she held German citizenship, Regina became the First Lady of Ethiopia by virtue of her marriage to the then
President Dr. Negasso.
See also
*
First Lady of Ethiopia
References
1954 births
Living people
People from Moers
First ladies of Ethiopia
Goethe University Frankfurt alumni
German emigrants to Ethiopia
Ethiopian people of German descent
{{Ethiopia-bio-stub