Acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn speaks to the press (Aug 28, 2012)

The Council of Ministers announced that Hailemariam Desalegn, as Acting Prime Minister will continue to lead the Council of Ministers. He will be sworn in as Prime Minister by Parliament after the funeral on Sunday. The Acting Prime Minister spoke to the press on Tuesday, August 21st, about the sudden and untimely death of Prime Minister Meles. Prime Minister Meles, he said, had spent his life struggling for development, progress, equality and justice and had shown wise leadership throughout his time in office, “working to establish a democratic developmental state on a concrete foundation.” The Acting Prime Minister said that the people of Ethiopia were a living witness to “the wise leadership that had brought about the implementation of polices and strategies to produce tremendous changes over the past ten years”. He hailed Meles’ leadership saying that he had “lived his life burning like a candle for the good of his people”. He said Prime Minister Meles had sacrificed his entire life to the development of his country and died all-too-suddenly as he was leading the country with high zeal and commitment. “The loss of his exceptional leadership is great - a leader like him is a once in a lifetime phenomenon”, he added. The Acting Prime Minister vowed that in order to “implement government policies and strategies the leadership will work with more vigour, utilizing the skills and knowledge developed through Meles’ wise leadership over the past two decades”. He said that this loss would leave a void that was difficult to fill, particularly given Prime Minister Meles’s dynamic role at a national, continental and even global level. Nevertheless, he stressed, the members of the government and leadership of the country would work together, collectively contributing their level best to implement the policies and strategies already laid down and registering tangible results. He affirmed the commitment and readiness of the leadership; and he urged the people of Ethiopia to stand by the side of the new generation of leaders of the nation to fully support the Growth and Transformation Plan.