By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ethiopia’s State Minister of Finance, Eyob Tekalign has been named the country’s new central bank governor, following the resignation of Mamo Mihretu earlier this month.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who appointed Tekalign on Friday has made efforts since coming to power in 2018 to liberalise Ethiopia’s hitherto tightly controlled economy.
Mihretu, who was the Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) since January 2023 has received credit for leading the country’s deep economic reforms including the flotation of its birr currency and the opening up of its financial sector to foreign banks.
The new NBE chief, Eyob has worked as a state minister of finance since 2018, and previously as minister in charge of Ethiopia’s National Planning Commission.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he sits on several boards including the central bank, Ethiopian Investment Holdings, EthioTelecom and Ethiopian Electric Power.
Eyob also holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland in an analysis of Ethiopia’s political economy since the end of the civil war in 1991. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Over the past seven years, Dr. Eyob has been at the forefront of the economic reform in Ethiopia, including the negotiation of the external debt restructuring, tax reforms,” Reuters quoted Abdulmenan Mohammed, an independent analyst as saying.
“He should appreciate the complexity of the responsibility he is taking. Inflation is still in double digits, the market-based exchange rate system is still in a precarious situation, and the interest-based monetary policy framework is under implementation.”
While announcing his resignation, Mihretu said he was leaving government to pursue other professional opportunities.
