The first female president of Ethiopia has been sworn in. A few hours ago, Ethiopia’s parliament approved Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s new president, following new shifts in the country’s political sphere initiated by the country’s Prime Minister Ahmed. Before her swearing in, Ms Sahle-Work served as the served as Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union and Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union.

Her election to the ceremonial position comes a week after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed a cabinet with half the posts taken up by women. Last week, when the prime minister reshuffled his cabinet, he appointed 10 female ministers, making Ethiopia the third country in Africa, after Rwanda and Seychelles, to achieve gender parity in their cabinets.

“In a historic move, the two Houses have elected Ambassador Shalework Zewde as the next President of #Ethiopia. She is the first female head of state in modern Ethiopia,” Fitsum Arega, Abiy’s Chief of Staff, said on Twitter. “In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalises women as decision-makers in public life.”

According to the BBC World Africa news service, Ms Sahle-Work was voted in after the unexpected resignation of her predecessor, Mulatu Teshome, who served for 5 years.

After being sworn in, President Sahle-Work promised to work hard to make gender equality a reality in Ethiopia, while promoting peace for the nation. “When there is no peace in country, mothers will be frustrated. Therefore, we need to work on peace for the sake of our mothers,” Sahle-Work told parliament after her approval.

Since his appointment in April, Prime Minister Abiy has presided over a gale of reforms that have “turned the region’s politics on its head, including the pardoning of dissidents long outlawed by the government.”