Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo | |
---|---|
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea | |
In office 1993–1994 | |
Preceded by | Mohammed Said Bareh |
Succeeded by | Petros Solomon |
2nd Minister of Local Government of Eritrea 1 | |
In office 2000–2001 | |
Preceded by | Ali Said Abdella |
Personal details | |
Born | 1948 Southern Region,British Military Administration of Eritrea |
Political party | PFDJ |
1Ministry was renamed from Ministry of Internal Affairs. | |
Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo (born 1948,possibly died December 2003), [1] commonly known simply as Sherifo,was an Eritrean politician. He joined the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1967. He was an independent activist during Eritrea's war of independence from Ethiopia. Post-independence,he served in various capacities as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Local Government.
In September 2001 he was detained indefinitely along with other politicians who were known as the G-15,a group which opposed the rule of Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki. Mahmud along with 15 other ministers were arrested by the ruling front and detained in unknown location ever since. The ministers were criticizing the border war of the then president,Isaia and signed an open letter. Amnesty International has named him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release in 2011.
Sherifo joined the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1967. He was an independent activist during Eritrea's war of independence from Ethiopia. Post-independence,he served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs before his last posting as Minister of Local Government. During this time he was also appointed Chairman of the Committee to prepare the draft laws concerning the first round of National Elections and the Political Party laws. Once the drafts were completed the Chairman of the National Assembly (and President),Isaias Afewerki summoned a report on the drafts. Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo was detained for his hazy role (schemes that occurred on May 19,1993),and for orchestrating a coup d'état in 2001. [2]
Sherifo has been detained since 2001 following the G-15 affair. Dissidents suggest he has been detained for campaigning for democratic reforms, [3] while official sources contend that his detention is a consequence of "discreetly...solicit[ing] support in government circles for ousting the president,and to seek US and UN intervention to end the war on Ethiopia's surrender terms" [4] while being detained. [5] In September 2001 he was detained indefinitely along with other politicians who were known as the G-15,a group which opposed the rule of Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki. Mahmud along with 15 other ministers were arrested by the ruling front and detained in unknown location ever since. The ministers were criticizing the border war of the then president,Isaia and signed an open letter. He was fired along with other opposing members and was detained on 18 September 2001. [6] He was considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. [7] Although Eritrea has no post of vice president, [8] nonetheless some sources have listed Sherifo as the vice president,and continue to do so (2006). [9]
Amnesty International has named him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release. [7]
It is believed that Sheriffo has died in December 2003 of complications related to diabetes,for which he did not receive medical attention. His death has never been confirmed. [1]
The politics of Eritrea and the government of Eritrea take place in the framework of a single-party presidential republic. The President officially serves as both head of state and head of government. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the only political party legally permitted to exist in Eritrea. The popularly elected National Assembly of 150 seats,formed in 1993 shortly after independence from Ethiopia,elected the current president,Isaias Afwerki. There have been no general elections since its official independence in 1993 due to state of war with neighboring Ethiopia. A new constitution was drafted in 1993 and ratified in 1997. It has been implemented except the presidential election. Since the National Assembly last met in January 2002,president Isaias has exercised the powers of both the executive and legislative branches of government.
Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the first and only president of Eritrea since 1993. In addition to being president,Isaias has been the chairman of Eritrea's sole legal political party,the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF),colloquially known as Shabia,was an armed Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1973 as a far-left to left-wing nationalist group that split from the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). After achieving Eritrean independence in 1991,it transformed into the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ),which serves as Eritrea's sole legal political party.
G-15 is a name given to a group in Eritrea that opposes the policy of President Isaias Afewerki postponing elections and the failure in implementing the constitution. The membership of this group consists of former members of the President's ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) which has ruled the country since its independence in 1993. In May 2001 the group issued an open letter raising criticism against Isayas Afeworki's actions calling them "illegal and unconstitutional."
Berhanu Nega is an Ethiopian politician who is serving as the current Minister of Education since 2021. He previously was the mayor elect of Addis Ababa,Ethiopia,in the 2005 Ethiopian general elections. He is a founding chairman of the Rainbow Ethiopia:Movement for Democracy and Social Justice and a Deputy Chairman of Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD),for whom he served as chief election campaign strategist. He is also the co-founder and leader of Ginbot 7,an anti-government rebel group. Until mid-2018,he was labelled a terrorist by the Ethiopian government.
Helen Berhane is an Eritrean Christian Gospel singer who was a prisoner in Eritrea.
Petros Solomon is an Eritrean politician. He was an Eritrean People's Liberation Front commander and played a key role during the Eritrean War of Independence,following independence he served in several positions in the Cabinet,including Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Aster Fissehatsion was an Eritrean politician and an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. She is the former wife of former vice-president of Eritrea,Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo.
Haile Woldense or Woldetensae is an Eritrean politician.
Seyoum Tsehaye is a jailed Eritrean journalist. At independence in 1993,Tsehaye was named to the head of Eri-TV,the Eritrean state broadcaster. He was arrested in September 2001 when President Isaias Afewerki closed all non-governmental media sources. In December 2007,Seyoum was named Reporter of the Year by Reporters Without Borders. As of January 2016,he was known to be alive,being held at Eiraeiro prison.
Ruth Simon is an Eritrean journalist.
Aster Yohannes is a veteran of Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and an independence activist. Post-independence,she was working in the ministry of Fishery and Marine Resources in 1995. She also is the wife of detained Eritrean politician Petros Solomon.
Denmark–Eritrea relations refers to the current and historical relations between Denmark and Eritrea. Denmark is represented in Eritrea through its embassy in Nairobi,Kenya,and Eritrea is represented in Denmark through its embassy in Stockholm,Sweden.
Eiraeiro is a secret prison in Eritrea. Most sources give the location of Eiraeiro as being situated near the village of Gahtelay,in the Northern Red Sea Region. However,in an article in the Guardian,Eiraeiro is cited as being located approximately 10 miles from the capital,Asmara.
Solomon Abera Gebremichae (1968–2011) was a press freedom advocate,and detractor of the Afewerki government. He died of cancer in December 2011.
The following lists events in the year 2018 in Ethiopia.
Events in the year 2018 in Eritrea.
Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia have been historically adversarial. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after the Eritrean War of Independence,after which relations were cordial. Since independence Eritrea's relationship with Ethiopia was entirely political,especially in the resuscitation and expansion of IGAD's scope. However,the 1998 Eritrean–Ethiopian War marked a turning point,and their relationship became increasingly hostile.
The 2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia summit was a bilateral summit that took place on 8–9 July 2018 in Asmara,Eritrea,between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and officials from the two countries.
Abiy Ahmed is currently the third serving Prime Minister of Ethiopia. In 2018,he became the first ever Oromo descent to assume the role of prime minister in the history of Ethiopia. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in his second year as a prime minister of Ethiopia in 2019 becoming the eighth African laureates to win the award for peace.