The House of Federation (HoF) has officially elected veteran leader and former senior government official Mufriat Kamil as its new Speaker. The high-profile election took place during the opening of the first regular session of the first year of the upper house’s seventh parliamentary term. Alongside her appointment, the House announced the election of Mr. Desta Ledamo as Deputy Speaker.
Mufriat previously served with distinction as Minister of Women’s Affairs from November 2009 to October 2011, contributing policy initiatives aimed at advancing gender equality and social welfare. Her
In 2018 ( April to October ), she became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives. During her tenure in the lower house, she shouldered critical responsibilities, including serving as Government Chief Whip with the rank of State Minister and as Chairperson of the Transport Standing Committee.
Beyond the legislature, Mufriat transitioned into the executive branch, assuming some of the country’s most sensitive and demanding portfolios. She was appointed Ethiopia’s first Minister of Peace. Within this newly established ministry, she shaped its institutional framework and led the country’s six major security institutions through a critical transitional period. Following her tenure at the Ministry of Peace, she served as the Federal Government’s inaugural Minister of Labor and Skills.
Her administrative and advisory experience further includes serving as Vice President of the Meles Zenawi Leadership Academy and as Advisor to the Prime Minister on Social Affairs.
Her career trajectory also reflects extensive service at the regional and local levels. She previously served as Deputy Head of the Women’s Affairs Bureau for the former Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), Advisor to the Regional President, Head of Community Participation and Mobilization in the Siltie Zone, and Head of the Cooperative Office in the Abeshge District of the Gurage Zone.
Desta Ledamo, elected as Deputy Speaker of the House, brings a notable record of regional leadership, having served as the first President of the Sidama National Regional State from June 2020 until October 2026. He assumed the regional presidency following the historic November 2019 referendum that established Sidama as Ethiopia’s tenth regional state, and was subsequently re-elected by the Sidama Regional Council in September 2021. Prior to regional statehood, he served as Chief Administrator of the Sidama Zone during its transition into a formal region.