ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's House of Peoples' Representatives (HoPR), the lower chamber of the parliament, on Thursday unanimously approved a 23-member cabinet proposed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Unveiling members of the new cabinet, Abiy told the parliament that the nominees were chosen based on their educational background, professional experience, execution capacity, previous career and commitment to fighting corruption and delivering high-quality public service.
Of the 23 ministerial positions, including the deputy prime minister, more than 10 positions remained unchanged, as nine ministerial positions were taken by women.
"The appointment has taken into consideration the appointees' cleanness from corruption and commitment to service delivery, gender, ethnicity and religion disparities," Abiy said, noting that the nominees are believed to help realize the government's "Medemer" philosophy, an Amharic word for "coming together" or "synergy."
He urged the appointees to advance public service delivery and protect national interests of more than 54 million citizens who cast their ballots in the June 1 general elections.
Accordingly, Temesgen Tiruneh has been reappointed as deputy prime minister and Gedion Timothewos has been reappointed as minister of foreign affairs, while opposition party member Berhanu Nega has been reappointed as education minister.
"This isn't the most ideal nomination," Abiy told the parliament while responding to questions raised by members of the parliament. "This is the best we could come up with based on the agreed criteria."
The formation of the new cabinet comes after the appointment of Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister of Ethiopia on Monday during the inaugural session of the seventh HoPR tenure. ■
