In this Eritrean name, the name Afwerki is a patronymic, and the person should be referred by the given name, Isaias.
Isaias Afwerki
ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ
Isaias in 2024
President of Eritrea
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 1993[1]
Preceded by
Position established
President of the National Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 1993
Preceded by
Position established
Chairman of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 February 1994
Preceded by
Position established
Secretary-General of the Provisional Government of Eritrea
In office 27 April 1991 – 24 May 1993
Preceded by
Position established
Succeeded by
Position abolished
Leader of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front
In office 12 January 1987 – 16 February 1994
Preceded by
Romodan Mohammed Nur
Succeeded by
Position abolished
Personal details
Born
(1946-02-02) 2 February 1946 (age 78) Asmara, Eritrea[a]
Political party
People's Front for Democracy and Justice
Spouse
Saba Haile
Children
Abraham
Elsa
Berhane
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
ELF (1967–1969) EPLF (1970–1994)
Battles/wars
Eritrean War of Independence Eritrean Civil Wars
Isaias Afwerki (Tigrinya: ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, pronounced[isajasafwɐrkʼi]ⓘ; born 2 February 1946)[2] is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory on 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia.[3]
In addition to being president, Isaias has been the chairman of Eritrea's sole legal political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). As Eritrea has never had a functioning constitution, no elections, no legislature and no published budget, Isaias has been the sole power in the country, controlling its judiciary and military.[4] Hence, scholars and historians have long considered him to be a dictator,[5][6][7][8] described his regime as totalitarian, by way of forced conscription; the United Nations and Amnesty International cited him for human rights violations.[9][10] In 2022, Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea, under the government of Isaias, last out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index. In 2023 Eritrea ranked 174th out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index.[11]
^Connell & Killion 2011, p. xl
^"President: Isaias Afwerki". BBC News. The BBC. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
^Perlez, Jane (16 June 1991). "Eritreans, Fresh From Victory, Must Now Govern". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^de Waal, Alex (2 September 2022). "The Despotism of Isaias Afewerki". The Baffler. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
^"OHCHR Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea". OHCHR. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
^Human Rights Watch (12 January 2017), "Eritrea: Events of 2016", English, archived from the original on 23 August 2018, retrieved 20 November 2022
^Keane, Fergal (9 July 2018). "Can Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed make peace with 'Africa's North Korea'?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
^Taylor, Adam (12 June 2015). "The brutal dictatorship the world keeps ignoring". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
^Cumming-Bruce, Nick (8 June 2015). "Torture and Other Rights Abuses Are Widespread in Eritrea, U.N. Panel Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2019. has imposed a reign of fear through systematic and extreme abuses of the population that may amount to crimes against humanity
^"Eritrea: Rampant repression 20 years after independence". Amnesty International. 9 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
^"2021 World Press Freedom Index". RSF - Reporters without borders. 20 April 2020. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
IsaiasAfwerki (Tigrinya: ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, pronounced [isajas afwɐrkʼi] ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president...
president, IsaiasAfwerki, in 1993. Following his election, Afwerki consolidated his control of the Eritrean government." President IsaiasAfwerki has regularly...
office of president in 1993, the head of state of Eritrea has been IsaiasAfwerki. The president is also the head of government of Eritrea, as well as...
Wolde Ghiday and Kidae Kiflu. Therefore, in 1971, Abraham Tewoide and IsaiasAfwerki founded a faction that broke away from the ELF that would eventually...
Eritrean Cabinet of Ministers is headed by the President of Eritrea, IsaiasAfwerki. In principle, the National Assembly of Eritrea approves all candidates...
shortly after independence from Ethiopia, elected the current president, IsaiasAfwerki. There have been no general elections since its official independence...
Minister of Defense during the 1990s. After repression by president IsaiasAfwerki against Mesfin's colleagues, Mesfin fled Eritrea in 2001 and sought...
The mutiny was the first major incident of resistance to the rule of IsaiasAfwerki since the purging of a group of fifteen ministers who demanded political...
have denied any incursion over the border by President IsaiasAfwerki's military. Abiy and Afwerki signed a peace pact ending two decades of hostilities...
persecuted many members of the congregations. After independence, President IsaiasAfwerki's administration denied all basic rights to Jehovah's Witnesses. No members...
President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan 2014 President Idriss Deby of Chad 2015 President IsaiasAfwerki of Eritrea 2016 President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan 2017...
2013, president IsaiasAfwerki commented on the mutiny, describing it as nothing to worry about. In September 2018, President IsaiasAfwerki and Prime Minister...
officially gained independence in 1993; since then it has been governed by IsaiasAfwerki, whose regime has been defined by an extremely poor human rights record...
developed close links to the Ala group led by his colleague, Isaias. Together with Isaias and others, Romodan created the nucleus of what was to become...
Energy Abraham Afewerki, popular singer, songwriter and music producer IsaiasAfwerki, President of Eritrea Tsehaytu Beraki, popular Eritrean musician Yemane...
Unitary theocratic Islamic emirate Asia State of Eritrea 2001 Active IsaiasAfwerki People's Front for Democracy and Justice Eritrean nationalism Left-wing...
Mozambique". 10 December 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2023. "President IsaiasAfwerki Receives Credentials Of 25 Ambassadors". TesfaNews. October 9, 2014...
legislative and executive powers are effectively held by President IsaiasAfwerki. Human Rights Watch (2021-12-22), Eritrea: Events of 2021, retrieved...
Christodoulides President of Cyprus 28 February 2023 Eritrea Horn of Africa IsaiasAfwerki President of Eritrea 24 May 1993 Ethiopia Sahle-Work Zewde President...
Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (2023–present) Eritrea President – IsaiasAfwerki, President of Eritrea (1991–present) Eswatini Monarch – Mswati III...
Ethiopia were in the process of being normalized, Eritrean President IsaiasAfwerki was heavily critical of the TPLF, describing them as "vultures." While...
Global Information
