ADDIS ABABBA: United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday evening said that she “admired” Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died the evening before after battling an unknown illness. Clinton praised the PM's “personal commitment to transforming Ethiopia's economy and to expanding education and health services. “He was an important and influential voice in Africa, and we especially valued his role in promoting peace and security in the region. I am confident that Ethiopia will peacefully navigate the political transition according to its constitution,” she said in a statement. Zenawi was born on May 8, 1955 and came to power in the early 1990s as prime minister, holding this position until Tuesday. He ruled the country with an iron grip, and the past few months has shown his strength over the country was not one that all Ethiopians enjoyed. “On behalf of the American people, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the people of Ethiopia, and to reaffirm our commitment to a strong partnership focused on strengthening development, democracy and human rights, and regional security,” Clinton added in her statement. According to Opride.com, “the former rebel-leader dropped out of Addis Ababa University's Medical School, where he studied for two years, to join the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front in 1974. He has been the chairman of both the TPLF and the ruling coalition, Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, since 1989." Meles died Monday just before midnight after contracting an infection, state TV announced Tuesday. Hailemariam Desalegn, who was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs in 2010, is now in charge of the Cabinet, state TV said. Already, there is a sense of uncertainty in the country over the death, and questions surrounding the future of Ethiopia continue. “I just don't know what to think right now," one Addis Ababa resident told Bikyamasr.com as citizen took to watching the television together in order to gain any new information on their leader's passing.
