By Hailegebriel Endeshaw
Friday April 7, 2023
ADDIS ABABA – (BORKENA) – Lelisse Desalegn and Zahara Umer were appointed as president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court respectively.
The appointments were approved last Tuesday, 4 April 2023 by the House of Peoples Representatives following the submission of letters of resignation of the former president of the Supreme Court, Birhanemeskel Wagari and Vice president Tenagne Tilahun. The House, which was convened on its regular session approved the appointments by majority vote and with two abstentions.
Lelisse reportedly served as vice president of the Federal High Court for three years before she took the seat of the chief presidency at the Supreme Court. She also amassed experiences in the field for 20 years in the Oromia Region and the Federal courts. Lelisse started her judicial career in 2002 as an assistant judge at the Supreme Court of Oromia Regional State. From 2003 to 2007, she worked as a judge in the Supreme Courts of the East Wollega and Adama Special Zones of the Oromia Region. The newly appointed president has embarked the leadership position as an acting president of the Supreme Court of Adama Special Zone. Since 2008, she has served as the president of this same court.
Lelisse has also served as a judge in the Federal Supreme Court until her current appointment. Since January 2008, she has been appointed as Vice President of the Federal High Court. Lelisse has been in this position for about three years and five months. It is from this position she was appointed as the Chief President of the Supreme Court.
Lelisse, had her bachelor’s degree in the stream of Law from Addis Ababa University in 2002. Then she worked on her master’s thesis on Transformational Leadership and Change. Currently Lelisse is pursuing her study in Business Law at Addis Ababa University.
Zahara Umer who was appointed as Vice President of the Federal Supreme Court spent most of her time as a judge in the Somali Regional Supreme Court. Zahara is a law graduate with bachelor’s degree in 2000 from Civil Service University here. Zahara started working as a Criminal Court Judge the same year in the Supreme Court of Somali Regional State. She has once served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the Somali Region. The new appointee has also served as a Supreme Court judge in the same region.