Girma Wolde-Giorgis

Girma Wolde-Giorgis Lucha (born December 1924) is the President of Ethiopia. He was elected in 2001, as a relative unknown, by a unanimous vote of the Ethiopian Parliament. The Ethopian presidency is a largely symbolic office with little power.

He served in the military and as a politician under Emperor Haile Selassie, serving first in Parliament and even being elected Speaker of the Lower House. After the Emperor was overthrown in 1974, he worked under the military Derg regime, particularly in Eritrea as the local Red Cross Representative. After the ouster of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, he became a businessman, in addition to returning to Parliament.