ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian House of Peoples' Representatives (HoPR), the lower chamber of the Ethiopian parliament, on Thursday approved Temesgen Tiruneh as the country's deputy prime minister.
The HoPR unanimously appointed Tiruneh, who was previously the director general of the National Intelligence and Security Service of Ethiopia, upon the endorsement of the country's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Tiruneh replaced Demeke Mekonnen who resigned as deputy president of the East African country's ruling Prosperity Party, which is often considered as a prerequisite to senior positions in the country's government structure.
Ahmed, while presenting the credentials of Tiruneh, said the former intelligence chief has garnered rich educational and governance experience, supported by several senior positions in the Ethiopian government over the years.
Tiruneh had served as the president of the Amhara Region as well as security adviser to the prime minister before his role as the director general of the National Intelligence and Security Service of Ethiopia.
Ahmed said Tiruneh's appointment as the deputy prime minister of Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, would help strengthen the government's efforts to realize the socioeconomic development of the country.
Last month, Ethiopia's ruling Prosperity Party appointed Tiruneh, who is a member of the party's executive committee, as its deputy president, replacing the departing veteran Ethiopian politician Mekonnen. The move is said to be in line with the party's "leadership succession principle and working system." ■