Samuel Assefa is an Ethiopian academic and diplomat who served as the 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 States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from 11 May 2006 and ended it on 19 November 2009. Samuel Assefa is the son of Assefa Lemma, the Ethiopian ambassador to Germany; Assefa Lemma held that position from 1961 to 1964 and again from 1970 to 1974. Samuel earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, and his doctorate in political science from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where he afterwards taught. Prior to becoming ambassador to the

, Samuel Assefa served as vice president of

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, ...

. He was also a founding member of "Ethiopia Past and Future", an ad hoc group composed of ambassadors from leading donor countries and members of Ethiopian civil society that seeks to promote dialogue in the aftermath of the 2005 Ethiopian elections. Samuel Assefa has worked in the past with a variety of institutions dedicated to strengthening civil society, including the InterAfrica Group, Center for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights, African initiative for a Democratic World Order, the

Heinrich Boll Foundation Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

, and the Bonn International Center for Conversion. He was awarded the Goethe Medal in 2005 for his work in this area.

References

"The Washington Diplomat: His Excellency Samuel Assefa"
Academic staff of Addis Ababa University Ambassadors of Ethiopia to the United States Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Swarthmore College alumni Princeton University alumni Princeton University faculty {{Ethiopia-academic-bio-stub

See also

References