Mubasher: Members of the Ethiopian parliament has elected the African country’s first female president.

The former diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde is also Africa’s only female head of state.

Given the fact the half of members at Ethiopia's new government are women, the election of a female president indicates a great development toward gender equality in the country.

"I urge you all, to uphold our peace, in the name of a mother, who is the first to suffer from the absence of peace,” Sahle-Work said, addressing the parliament.

Sahle-Work assumed many posts before becoming president including the Ethiopian ambassador to Senegal and Djibouti, and the UN representative at the African Union.

The president in Ethiopia holds a ceremonial post, while the prime minister is the real head of the executive branch.