Ethiopia’s reformist Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed has been hailed by the renowned Foreign Policy magazine as one of the Global Thinkers that emerged over the past 12 months.
Abiy, who took office in April, last year, has implemented several reforms across the political, economic, diplomatic and social spheres. Notably, he carved a path through Ethiopia’s tense, ethnically divided landscape by ending a decade’s old conflict with neighbouring Eritrea, opened up the political and democratic space and pledged to liberalise the previously state controlled economy.
2019 marks the 10th anniversary of the special edition; FP thus split the list into 10 categories of 10.
‘‘The idea is not to honour do-gooders (though we feature plenty of them) but to shine a spotlight on some of the most influential people in the world – for better or worse.’‘
Abiy was named in the Defense and Security category, along with Ursula von der Leyen, the defense minister of Germany, Sheikh Hasina, and the prime minister of Bangladesh among others.
The other categories include 40 & under, Energy and Climate, Technology, Economics and Business, Science and Health, Activism and the Arts, and the Readers’ Choice among others.
Uganda’s opposition legislator Bobi Wine was named in the Activism category, while Ghana’s globally celebrated icon Kofi Annan was included in The Departed category, featuring prominent people who died in 2018.
