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Isaias Afwerki | |
|---|---|
| ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ | |
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| 1st President of Eritrea | |
| Assumed office 24 May 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| 1st President of the National Assembly of Eritrea | |
| Assumed office 24 May 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| 1st Chairman of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice | |
| Assumed office 16 February 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| 1st Secretary-General of the Provisional Government of Eritrea | |
| In office 27 April 1991 – 24 May 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| 2nd Leader of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front | |
| In office 12 January 1987 – 16 February 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Romodan Mohammed Nur |
| Succeeded by | Party dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 February 1946 Asmara, British Administration in Eritrea (present-day Eritrea) |
| Political party | People's Front for Democracy and Justice |
| Spouse | Saba Haile |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Addis Ababa University (dropped out) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | ELF (1966–1969) EPLF (1970–1994) |
| Years of service | 1966–1991 |
| Battles/wars | Eritrean War of Independence Eritrean Civil Wars |
Isaias Afwerki (Tigrinya: ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ,[1] pronounced [isajas afwɐrkʼi] ⓘ; born 2 February 1946)[2] is an Eritrean politician who has been the president of Eritrea since 1993 and the chairman of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) since 1994.
Isaias joined the pro-independence Eritrean Liberation Front in 1966 and quickly rose through the ranks to become its leader in 1970, before defecting to form the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). Having consolidated power within this group, he led pro-independence forces to victory on 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia,[3] before being elected president of the newly-founded country of Eritrea two years later.
Western scholars and historians have long considered Isaias to be a dictator, with Eritrea's constitution remaining unenforced, electoral institutions effectively being nonexistent as well as a policy of mass conscription.[4][5][6][7][8] The United Nations and Amnesty International have cited him for human rights violations.[9][10] In 2024, Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea, under the government of Isaias, last out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index.[11]
- ^ "ፕረዚደንት ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ፡ ኣብ መልእኽቲ ሓድሽ ዓመት እንታይ ኣመልኪቱ?" (in Tigrinya). BBC World Service. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "President: Isaias Afwerki". BBC News. The BBC. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ Perlez, Jane (16 June 1991). "Eritreans, Fresh From Victory, Must Now Govern". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "OHCHR Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea". OHCHR. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (12 January 2017), "Eritrea: Events of 2016", English, archived from the original on 23 August 2018, retrieved 20 November 2022
- ^ Keane, Fergal (9 July 2018). "Can Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed make peace with 'Africa's North Korea'?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Adam (12 June 2015). "The brutal dictatorship the world keeps ignoring". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ de Waal, Alex (2 September 2022). "The Despotism of Isaias Afewerki". The Baffler. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ Cumming-Bruce, Nick (8 June 2015). "Torture and Other Rights Abuses Are Widespread in Eritrea, U.N. Panel Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
has imposed a reign of fear through systematic and extreme abuses of the population that may amount to crimes against humanity
- ^ "Eritrea: Rampant repression 20 years after independence". Amnesty International. 9 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "2024 World Press Freedom Index". Reporters Without Borders. 2024. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.