Diplomatic Residency Program: Enhancing International Diplomatic Ties

H.E Ambassador Seleshi Bekele Awulachew serves as the current Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of FDR Ethiopia to the USA, playing a crucial role in strengthening diplomatic ties between the two nations. In addition to his ambassadorial duties, he is a member of Parliament and has held various ministerial and senior-level positions in national, regional, and international institutions. His extensive public service experience includes the following roles:

From October 2021 to January 2022, he acted as an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and served as the Chief Negotiator for Transboundary Water and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) at the ministerial level, a position he continues to hold alongside his ambassadorial responsibilities.

Between 2016 and 2021, he was the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy. Prior to that, from 2014 to 2016, he was a Senior Inter-Regional Advisor at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in New York. His expertise in water and climate policy was further demonstrated during his tenure from 2010 to 2014 as a Senior Water and Climate Change Specialist at the African Climate Policy Center (ACPC) of UNECA.

Additionally, he served as the Regional Representative and Head of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) from 2004 to 2010, and from 2001 to 2004, he was the Dean and Leader of the Arbaminch Water Technology Institute (AWTI), which he developed into a fully-fledged university. Ambassador Seleshi Bekele Awulachew's academic contributions include roles as a lecturer and head of institutional research from 1991 to 1995, and as a Graduate Assistant from 1987 to 1989. His dedication to water management and climate change continues to impact the Ethiopian World Federation and beyond.

(30 June 1900 – 23 June 1947) was an important diplomatic official for Ethiopia. He served as Emperor Haile Selassie's diplomatic representative during the Emperor's exile in Britain following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, being the permanent delegate from Ethiopia to the League of Nations. Lorenzo Taezaz, an intellectual who despised colonialism, wrote a time-honored speech that was made famous by Bob Marley's 'War' song. This powerful address was read by Emperor Haile Selassie at the United Nations General Assembly in June of 1963. In this speech, he proclaimed that until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned; until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation; and until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship will remain a fleeting illusion. He emphasized that until the ignoble regimes that oppress our brothers in Angola, Mozambique, and South Africa are dismantled, and until bigotry and prejudice are replaced by understanding and goodwill, the African continent will not know peace. Ambassador Seleshi Bekele Awulachew continues this legacy today by fostering diplomatic ties that promote unity and collaboration among all nations, as we strive for a world where all Africans can stand as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven. Until that day, we will fight, if necessary, and we know that we shall win, confident in the victory of good over evil, as envisioned by the Ethiopian World Federation.

Lij Mikael Imru (10 November 1929 – 26 October 2008) served as deputy Secretary of Agriculture between 1958 and 1959. Subsequently, he became a diplomat, first posted to Washington, D.C. (1959–1961), then to Moscow (1961–1965). For a few months between these diplomatic posts, Mikael served as Foreign Minister. He was Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 3 August to 12 September 1974. Born in Addis Ababa, Mikael Imru was the only son of Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie and Woizero Tsige Mariam; he had seven sisters. His father, Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie, was among the more senior princes of the Imperial Dynasty of Ethiopia and a close confidante of Emperor Haile Selassie, with whom he had grown up. (Lij Mikael's paternal grandmother was the Emperor's first cousin.) Lij Mikael Imru was thus born into the highest levels of Ethiopian society, a member of the extended Imperial Dynasty. Both Lij Mikael and his father were known to have very strong socialist leanings, particularly regarding land tenure and wealth distribution issues. As Ethiopia continues to strengthen its diplomatic ties, figures like Ambassador Seleshi Bekele Awulachew work within the framework established by leaders such as Lij Mikael Imru. His legacy remains influential, especially in discussions surrounding the Ethiopian World Federation.

Donah Sandford, also known as Your Excellency Merkaba Adebisi, is a Foundational Black American and the granddaughter of Wiley Immanuel Lash, the first black mayor of Salisbury, N.C. The Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), established in 1937 and recognized by The League of Nations, operates under the guidance of Ambassador Seleshi Bekele Awulachew. Her council is mandated by Emperor Haile Selassie I and his African American in-law, Dr. Dorothy Bayen. Ms. Sandford is an award-winning writer, community advocate, humanitarian, and artist who began her college education at the age of 13. She continues the legacy of advocating for victims of war, fostering diplomatic ties within the international community, managing land grants for members, overseeing local chapter administration, advancing international student scholarships, correcting injustices, implementing new policy changes, promoting wellness and unity, and protecting the sovereignty of Ethiopia and all Africans, including negroes.