Berhane Gebre-Christos

Berhane Gebre-Christos (Tigrinya: ብርሃነ ገብረ ክርስቶስ; born 1953) is an Ethiopian politician. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia from 2010 to 2012. He was also the Foreign Spokesperson for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) from 1979 to 1988.

Berhane Gebre-Christos
ብርሃነ ገብረ ክርስቶስ
Ambassador to China and North Korea
Assumed office
19 August 2017
Prime MinisterMeles Zenawi, Hailemariam Desalegn, Abiy Ahmed
Preceded bySeyoum Mesfin
Ambassador of Ethiopia to the United States
In office
1992–2002
Succeeded byKassahun Ayele
Ambassador to the European Union and Benelux
In office
2002–2010
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia
In office
2010–2012
Preceded byHailemariam Desalegn
Succeeded byTedros Adhanom
Foreign Spokesperson for the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
In office
1979 – January 1988
Personal details
Born1953 (age 69–70)
Mekelle, Tigray Province, Ethiopian Empire
Political partyEPRDF
Other political
affiliations		TPLF
Alma materHaile Selassie I University, University of Amsterdam

Early life

Berhane was born in 1953 in Mekelle, Ethiopia and attended General Wingate High School and subsequently the Haile Selassie I University (now Addis Ababa University) from 1971 to 1974. Berhane also holds a master's degree in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam. He is married and has three children.[1]

Political career
Berhane Gebre-Christos meeting with Vice Chancellor of Ecuador Marco Albuja Martinez.

Berhane joined the TPLF in 1976. From 1977 to 1979, Berhane was responsible for administration and marshalling mass organisations for the front. After serving as Foreign Spokesperson, in 1983 he was elected to the leadership of the TPLF, and between 1988 and 1991 he headed the diplomatic mission in the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front Foreign Relations Bureau. In this capacity, Berhane traveled throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the United States and met with government officials, media, and the public, representing the interests of the TPLF.[1]

After the fall of the Derg, Berhane was appointed as Ambassador to the United States, a post he held from 1992 to 2002. This was a particularly important position as Ethiopia had not held diplomatic relations with the United States since 1978. From 2002 to 2010, Berhane served as Ambassador of Ethiopia to the European Union and Benelux (the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands). Upon returning to Ethiopia, he was appointed State Minister for Foreign Affairs in October, 2010.[1]

Berhane is a member of the Delegation of Think Tank Scholars of Developing Countries and meet with the Vice Foreign Minister of China on 24 March 2017 to discuss Ethiopia-China cooperation and relations.[2]

Berhane was appointed as the Ambassador to China in August 2017.[3] On December 5 of the same year, he presented his credentials to Xi Jinping along with other newly appointed ambassadors.[4]

On 27 June 2018 Berhane presented his credentials to Kim Yong Nam as non-resident ambassador to the DPRK.[5]

See also

References
  1. Roveglia, Patrizia (23 May 2013). "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Real Instituto Elcano. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  2. "Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming Meets with Special Envoy of Prime Minister of Ethiopia Berhane Gebre-Christos". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC. 27 March 2017.
  3. Yalew, Getachew (18 August 2017). "Ethiopia picks new ambassador to China". People's Daily Online.
  4. "Xi Jinping Accepts Credentials from Eleven Newly-appointed Ambassadors to China". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. December 5, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  5. KCNA (27 June 2018). "Credentials of Ethiopian Ambassador Accepted". KCNA Watch. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
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