Ahmed Shide

Ahmed Shide (Somali: Axmed Shiide) is an Ethiopian-Somali politician who is serving as the Minister of Finance since October 2018. He was the Minister of Communication Affairs from April until Abiy Ahmed cabinet dissolved the ministry in October 2018.^[1]

Ahmed Shide
Axmed Shiide
Shide in 2023
Minister of Finance
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 October 2018
President	Sahle-Work Zewde
Prime Minister	Abiy Ahmed
Preceded by	Abraham Tekeste
Minister of Communication Affairs
In office 19 April 2018 – 16 October 2018
Prime Minister	Abiy Ahmed
Preceded by	Negeri Lencho
Succeeded by	post abolished
State Minister of Finance and Economic Development
In office 2009 – 1 November 2016
Prime Minister	Meles Zenawi Hailemariam Desalegn
Personal details
Born	Negele Borana, Ethiopia
Political party	Prosperity Party
Other political affiliations	Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front Ethiopian Somali People's Democratic Party
Residence(s)	Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Education	Ethiopian Civil Service College
Alma mater	University of Sussex (M.A) Institute of Social Studies (Diploma) Greenwich University (MBA)
Other offices March 2003 – September 2004: Chairman of Pastoral Affairs Committee (Somali Region) September 2004 – October 2005: Head of the President Office (Somali Region) October 2005 – September 2006: Head of Civil Service Improvement Bureau (Somali Region)

He was the former chair of the Somali political party of the Somali Regional State.^[2] He is a member of the federal parliament and was a member of the ruling party Ethiopian Somali People's Democratic Party (ESPDP). He is also member of Prosperity Party. He has also been serving as Minister of Finance in the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since 2018.^[3]

Early life and education

Ahmed Shide was born in Nagele to a less well off Gurre parents belonging to the Madahweyne a subclan of the Dir Somali. Ahmed completed his primary, secondary and tertiary education in Ethiopia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Ethiopian Civil Service College, Addis Ababa.^[4]

Shide also holds a Masters of Arts in Participation, Development and Social Change from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, United Kingdom, Post-Graduate Diploma in Managing Rural Resources and Resource Conflicts from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, the Netherlands, and MBA from Greenwich University, London, United Kingdom.

Career

Before assuming office as Minister of Finance, Shide served as Minister of Transport and also as Minister of Government Communication Affairs of Ethiopia. Even before that, he served as state minister of the Ministry of Finance and economic development for more than eight years, where he led the countries economic cooperation and regional development and integration agenda. He was the one who championed and spearheaded the economic reform of Ethiopia and contributed to the significant development achievements of the country recorded over the past decades. At the moment he is the one leading the economic reform, which aims at boosting private participation and better economic efficiency. He also served the government at regional state level.

Shide also served in Somali Region major offices during Meles Zenawi premiership, notably the as Chairman of Pastoral Affairs Committee (from March 2003 to September 2004), Head of the President Office (from September 2004 to October 2005) and Head of Civil Service Improvement Bureau (from October 2005 to September 2006).^[5]

Shide assumed the office of Minister of Finance on 16 October 2018, replacing Abraham Tekeste.^[6][7][8] By mid-2019, he proposed to parliament 386.9 billion birr ($13.48 billion) in government spending for the 2019/2020 budget.^[9] Also during his time in office, Ethiopia announced plans to split its state telecoms provider Ethio telecom into two business units along infrastructure and service sector lines before it is privatized.^[10] In late 2020, he oversaw negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a $2.9 billion programme, one of the biggest in the fund’s history in Africa.^[11]

In addition to his role in government, Shide has been a member of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Advisory Council on Gender and Development.^[12]

Other activities

• African Development Bank (AfDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2018)^[13]
• World Bank, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2018)^[14]

References

1. Getnet, Tesfaye (23 April 2018). "Abiy's new cabinet". Capital Newspaper. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
2. Lamberti, Marcello (1986). Map of Somali dialects in the Somali Democratic Republic. H. Buske. p. 15. ISBN 3871186902.
3. Aaron Maasho (October 16, 2018), Ethiopia's PM names Ahmed Shide as new finance minister Reuters.
4. "Ahmed Shide Minister of Finance, Ethiopia".
5. Observer, Ethiopia (12 August 2018). "Ahmed Shide named chairman of the Somali region ruling party". Ethiopia Observer. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
6. Tom Wilson (October 16, 2018), Ethiopia appoints new finance and defence ministers in major reshuffle Financial Times.
7. Aaron Maasho (October 16, 2018), Ethiopia's PM names Ahmed Shide as new finance minister Reuters.
8. "Ethiopia's PM names Ahmed Shide as finance minister". Reuters. 16 October 2018.
9. Dawit Endeshaw (June 11, 2019), Ethiopia finance minister proposes 386.9 billion birr for 2019/2020 budget Reuters.
10. Maggie Fick (June 17, 2019), Ethiopia to split state telecoms provider into two before privatisation Reuters.
11. David Pilling (March 5, 2020), Financial Times.
12. World Bank Advisory Council on Gender and Development World Bank Group.
13. 2019 Annual Report African Development Bank (AfDB).
14. Board of Governors World Bank.