Ethiopia Names 62 State Ministers, New Investment Head
ETHIOPIA · GOVERNMENT
Key Facts
- —What happened Abiy Ahmed appointed 62 state ministers on Saturday, 10 October.
- —Investment Hana Tekhelku now heads the Ethiopian Investment Commission.
- —Immigration Ambassador Fitsum Arega leads the Immigration and Citizenship Service.
- —Capital markets Dagmawit Shiferaw becomes director general of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket gives Abiy Ahmed a 5.5% chance of leaving office in 2026 (11 October, 1:40 a.m. ET).
Ethiopia filled the second tier of its new government on Saturday. It also replaced the heads of agencies that foreign investors and visitors meet first.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed 62 state ministers on Saturday, 10 October, in a list released by his office. On the same day he named new heads for the Ethiopian Investment Commission, the capital-market regulator and the Immigration and Citizenship Service.
For US companies and travellers, these are the officials who approve projects, license securities firms and issue visas. The appointments come as Ethiopia opens its economy to foreign capital while fighting flares again in its northern Tigray region.
62 State Ministers Fill Out the Medemer Government
Ethiopia state ministers are the deputies who run day-to-day work inside each federal ministry, below the cabinet minister. Fana Media Corporation, a state-aligned broadcaster, said the 62 posts span ministries including Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defense, Justice, Mining and Revenue.
The list also covers Trade and Regional Integration, Peace, Agriculture, Health, Education, Logistics, Irrigation and Lowlands, and Culture and Tourism. Further appointments went to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Government Communication Service.
Fana described the step as part of “the ongoing formation of the Medemer Government.” Medemer, Amharic for “coming together,” is the name Abiy gives to his governing philosophy and his Prosperity Party programme.
The Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), the state news service, carried the same announcement in Amharic. Neither outlet published the individual names of the 62 state ministers in its text.
Saturday’s round follows a busy week in parliament. On Monday, 5 October, lawmakers opened the seventh parliamentary term and re-elected Abiy as prime minister for a five-year term.
On Thursday, 8 October, the House of Peoples’ Representatives, the lower house, approved his new Council of Ministers. On Friday, 9 October, Abiy named seven officials with ministerial rank, including two sector heads in his office.
New Chiefs for Investment, Capital Markets and Immigration
The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), the national public broadcaster, published a separate list of agency heads in Amharic on Saturday. It said the names were “among” the officials Abiy appointed, so the list may not be complete.
Hana Tekhelku becomes commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, the agency that licenses and supports foreign investors. Melekt Sahlu and Dr. Baysa Bedada were named her deputies.
Dagmawit Shiferaw becomes director general of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority, which regulates the young Ethiopian Securities Exchange. Dr. Yirgaalem Asefa was named her deputy.
Ambassador Fitsum Arega takes over the Immigration and Citizenship Service, which issues passports, visas and residence permits. Yitagesu Desalegn becomes his deputy.
Ambassador Lencho Bati was named director general of the Ethiopian Diaspora Service, which handles ties with Ethiopians living abroad. Dr. Zeleke Temesgen and Jafar Bedru become deputy chief executives of Ethiopian Investment Holdings, the state’s sovereign wealth fund.
Why the Investment Posts Matter Now
The new investment team starts as Addis Ababa tries to make big projects easier to finance.
The Reporter, an Addis Ababa weekly, reported on Saturday on a new Council of Ministers regulation, No. 590/2026. It lets the Finance Ministry issue binding compensation commitments to investors.
Those commitments cover strategic projects against expropriation, regulatory changes and breaches of contracts by state-owned enterprises. Each commitment must carry a liability cap, and investors must exhaust contractual remedies before claiming.
The Ethiopian Investment Board or the Council of Ministers decides which projects count as strategic. The regulation is the kind of protection that lenders and political-risk insurers usually ask for before backing large deals.
Capital Ethiopia, a business weekly, reported on 4 October that two foreign banks have applied to enter the country through greenfield investments. Ethiopia’s banking sector had long been closed to foreign ownership.
What It Means for US Readers
US companies looking at Ethiopia, a country of well over 100 million people, will now deal with a new investment commissioner. Her team will handle licences and incentives under the new rules.
Investors eyeing the Ethiopian Securities Exchange will answer to a new regulator. Funds that track frontier markets will watch how quickly the authority licenses brokers and opens trading to foreigners.
American travellers need a visa to visit Ethiopia, and Fitsum Arega’s agency issues them. Any change in visa processing would reach business visitors, aid workers and Ethiopian-American families first.
The United States hosts one of the largest Ethiopian communities abroad, which the Diaspora Service courts for remittances and investment. Ethiopian Investment Holdings, which got two new deputy chiefs, manages the state’s commercial assets.
Security remains the main caveat. The US Embassy in Addis Ababa issued an alert on Thursday, 8 October, over possible long-range attacks in Ethiopia, The Reporter reported.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, bets on “Abiy Ahmed out as Prime Minister of Ethiopia in 2026?” priced Yes at 5.5%. That was on Sunday, 11 October, at about 1:40 a.m. ET.
Total volume on that market was about US$13,000, a thin market by US standards.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
The full names of the 62 state ministers and their portfolios were not published in text form by Fana or ENA. It is therefore not known who will serve as state minister for finance or foreign affairs.
EBC said its list of agency heads was partial, so other posts may also have changed hands. No official has explained the choices, and no second outlet had confirmed the agency appointments by Sunday morning.
It is also not known whether the new investment team will change licensing rules or visa procedures. The size of the liability caps under regulation No. 590/2026 has not been disclosed.
What Comes Next
More appointments to federal agencies are likely as the new government takes shape. Watch for the published names of the 62 state ministers and any further agency changes.
The appointments do not by themselves change any law, tax or visa rule. They change who applies the rules that foreign investors and visitors already face.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a state minister in Ethiopia?
A state minister is a deputy who runs daily work inside a federal ministry, below the cabinet minister. Abiy named 62 of them on Saturday, 10 October.
Who now runs the Ethiopian Investment Commission?
Hana Tekhelku was named commissioner, with Melekt Sahlu and Dr. Baysa Bedada as deputies, according to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation.
Do Americans need a visa for Ethiopia?
Yes, US citizens need a visa to visit Ethiopia. The Immigration and Citizenship Service, now led by Ambassador Fitsum Arega, issues visas and residence permits.
What is the Medemer Government?
Medemer means “coming together” in Amharic and is Abiy Ahmed’s name for his governing philosophy. State media use the term for the government formed after parliament re-elected him on 5 October.
Does this change investment rules for US companies?
Not directly, because the appointments change people, not laws. A separate regulation, No. 590/2026, now lets the Finance Ministry offer compensation commitments to strategic investors.
Sources: Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), agency appointments, in Amharic; Fana Media Corporation, 62 state ministers; Ethiopian News Agency, state ministers, in Amharic; Ethiopian News Agency, 9 October appointments; The Reporter, regulation No. 590/2026; The Reporter, US Embassy alert; Capital Ethiopia, foreign banks (all accessed 11 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief