Samuel Urkato Kurke (; born 1 September 1974) is an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

politician and

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

since October 2018. He was president of

Wolaita Sodo University Wolaita Sodo University () is a public university in Sodo, Wolaita Sodo, South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region, Ethiopia. It is approximately 339 kilometers (210.65 mile) far from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in southwest direction. It is one of the secon ...

before becoming Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and has been

Minister of Science and Higher Education {{Unreferenced, date=March 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A Ministry of Higher Education is a government department that focuses on the provision or regulation of institutions of higher education. In some countries these exist as ministries compounde ...

(MoSHE) since August 2020 until the ministry merge into Ministry of Education on 6 October 2021.

Background

Samuel was born in

Wolaita Sodo Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or (Wolaitta language, Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of wit ...

. He has a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from

Hawassa University Hawassa University (HU) ( am, ሀዋሳ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a residential national university in Hawassa, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. It is approximately south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education admits qualif ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Economics (Development Policy Analysis) from

Mekelle University Mekelle University ( ti, መቐለ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a higher education and training public institution located in Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, 783 kilometers north of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. Mekelle University is one of the lar ...

, and attended a PhD exchange student program in Resource and Agricultural Economics at

Kangwon National University Kangwon National University (KNU, ) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities in Gangwon, South Korea. Established as Kangwon Provincial Chuncheon Agricultural College in 1947 in Chuncheon, it extended to a comprehensive university i ...

, in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. He attended a PhD exchange study at

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

in McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, and completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in the

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, ...

Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance. Samuel became president of

in 2016, before his direct nomination as Minister of Mines and Petroleum in October 2018 following national reform that held by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

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 ...

. On 18 August 2020, he became the

following reshuffle of cabinet ministers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel Urkato 21st-century Ethiopian politicians Ministers of Science and Higher Education Wolayita Ministers of Mines and Petroleum Living people 1977 births People from Wolayita Zone Hawassa University alumni Mekelle University alumni Addis Ababa University alumni

Background

See also

References