Addis Ababa, September 17, 2024 (FBC) – The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Addis Ababa has expressed its sadness on the passing of the veteran Ethiopian politician and a long-serving academic Professor Beyene Petros.
The late Professor Beyene Petros has passed away at the age of 74 after a prolonged period of medical care.
In light of this news, the Chinese Embassy, among other diplomatic missions in Ethiopia, has extended its condolences to the family of the deceased and the people of Ethiopia.
“It is really heart-wrenching to hear that Prof. Beyene Petros passed away,” the Embassy noted in a message published today on social media platform X.
As a contributor to and witness of Ethiopia’s development over the past decades, he had profound insights on the Ethiopia-China relations and became a good friend to many Chinese, the Embassy noted.
Prof. Beyene Petros, born 11 March 1950, was an Ethiopian politician and educator who was the professor of Biology at Addis Ababa University and a former member of the Ethiopian parliament, representing an electoral district in Badawacho of Hadiya Zone. He was also the chairman of one of the largest opposition political parties in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum ‘Medreck’.
Moreover, Prof. Beyene was promoted to the new Government Privatization Advisory Council on 3 August 2018 to advise Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed concerning his new economic reforms. On 9 September 2020, he was also appointed as Deputy Director-General of Policy Study Institute by the Prime Minister.