His childhood friends described Hailemariam as timid and short-tempered

Growing up in the Welayta district of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region of Ethiopia, Hailemariam did not have the best reputation among his peers, some of whom described him as timid and short tempered. He spent much of his youth playing football and helping out his father with their family’s business.

His name is a mixture of Geez and Amharic

“Hailemariam” is Geez for “the power of St. Mary.” Geez is a semitic language formerly spoken in Northern Highland Ethiopia, and it remains the liturgical language of Ethiopia’s Christian Orthodox Church. His second name is his given name from his father, and “Desalegn” is Amharic for “I am pleased.”

Hailemariam’s wife is Eritrean

Hailemariam married Roman Tesfaye, his longtime girlfriend and an Eritrean woman, in 1989, and they have three children together. Many believe that former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s choice of Hailemariam was guided by a personal connection to Eritrea, so as to ensure the continuation of policies relating to the Red Sea and the Port of Assab.

His wife, Ethiopian first lady Roman Tesfaye, was a former advisor to the Southern Ethiopia region

An economist who works at the African Union, Tesfaye had several prominent positions including adviser to Southern Ethiopia. She also served on the Human Rights Commission of Ethiopia. She has two master’s degrees in leadership and economics.

He joined a military junta group in high school

During high school, Hailemariam joined a political youth group that represented the former military junta, Mengiustu Hailemariam.

Hailemariam is not a member of mainstream Ethiopian Christianity

Hailemariam’s family belongs to the Apostolic Church of Ethiopia, considered an “only-Jesus” denomination. The church is not affiliated with mainstream Ethiopian Protestant Christianity, known as Pentay, which follows the Trinity doctrine. This represents the first time in Ethiopian history that the head of state is not a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Hailemariam has a master’s degree in sanitation, among others

First earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1988 from the Addis Ababa University, Hailemariam went on to the Tampere University of Technology in Finland for his master’s degree in sanitation engineering. This helped land him the position of the dean of the Water Technology Institute for 13 years.

As chairman of the African Union, Hailemariam spent much of his time trying to restore stability in Mali

After assuming his post at the head of the African Union in January 2013, Hailemariam quickly turned his attention to the ongoing war in Mali. He has been tasked with gearing up international military support and tackling the growing food crisis, as well as helping to end the political limbo that has plagued Mali.

It is speculated he hid from protesters in Washington, D.C., during the 2014 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

Due to the large number of protesters calling for an end to Hailemariam’s dictatorship in Ethiopia, the prime minister was careful to appear at public events during the summit. Unlike other African embassies, the Ethiopian Embassy did not host an official dinner party, and Hailemariam did not fly the Ethiopian flag outside the hotel where he was staying. Some speculated he was hiding at a U.S. government guest house.

Source: SomalilandPress.com

Protests against Hailemariam’s regime have intensified since the arrest of opposition leader Andargachew Tsege

Opposition leader Andargachew Tsege was extradited from Yemen in June 2014 and brought back to Ethiopia on charges of plotting a coup in 2009, for which he was sentenced to death in absentia. Tsege is the secretary-general of the banned Ginbot 7 movement, and Hailemariam has been loathe to announce publicly whether or not the death penalty sentence will be carried out.

Source: BBC.com