In April 2019, Oromia’s regional council elevated Shimelis Abdisa to deputy president, making him the region’s de facto leader after Lemma Megerssa moved the same morning to the federal Defense Ministry.
The Reporter Ethiopia noted the pattern: Tigray, Somali Region, and Addis Ababa had already put non-council outsiders or deputies into presidential-style roles. Shimelis came from Abiy Ahmed’s Prime Minister’s Office, where he had replaced Fitsum Arega after Fitsum’s posting as ambassador to the United States.
ODP’s central committee framed the vote as filling Lemma’s vacancy. Addisu Arega took the party secretariat. For Horn readers, the file still matters because it shows how Abiy Ahmed’s early cabinet shuffle pulled regional bosses into federal posts while planting loyal administrators back into the largest region.
That federal-regional swap was sold as reform. It also concentrated power through appointments rather than contested local mandates, a habit that later hardened under Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party project.
Sources: The Reporter Ethiopia
