Isaias Afwerki (Tigrinya: ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ,[1] pronounced [isajas afwɐrkʼi] ⓘ; born 2 February 1946)[2] is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the first and only president of Eritrea since 1993.

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).

Having consolidated power within this group, he led pro-independence forces to victory on 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia,[3] before being elected president of the newly-founded country of Eritrea two years later.

Western scholars and historians have long considered Isaias to be a dictator, with Eritrea's constitution remaining unenforced, electoral institutions effectively being nonexistent as well as a policy of mass conscription.

His father, whose native village was Tselot, just outside of Asmara, was a minor functionary in the state tobacco monopoly, his mother was descended from Tigrayan immigrants from the Enderta region of Ethiopia.

[15][16] In September 1966, Isaias along with Haile Woldense and Mussie Tesfamichael traveled to Kassala, Sudan, via Asmara to join the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF).

[18] In August 1971, this group of Christian deflectors held a meeting at Tekli (northern Red Sea) and founded the Selfi Natsinet (“Independence Party“).

They then issued a highly polemical document written by Isaias called, Nihnan Elamanan (“We and Our Goals”), in which they explained the rationale for their decision to create a separate political organization instead of working within the ELF.

During this time, a significant number of Asmara high school and University of Addis Ababa students were recruited which resulted in the Selfi Natsinet becoming the most powerful group within the PLF.

A major crisis occurred when the Obel faction led by the former Sudanese army NCO Abu Tayyara, left the group in April 1973.

Isaias then called for a more unified administration and military force, which led to the emergence of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) in August 1973.

Internal agitation soon arose when the Marxist faction, led by his old friend Mussie Tesfamichael, called for more radical policies and began to accuse the movement of being too authoritarian.

After the Derg was overthrown by the EPRDF on 28 May, Isaias quickly obtained U.S. support for Eritrean independence; in June 1991, his organization announced their desire to hold a United Nations-sponsored referendum.

[24] On 16 February 1994, the EPLF held its third congress, renamed itself the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) as part of its transition to a political party and Isaias was elected secretary-general by an overwhelming majority of votes.

Notwithstanding, during the African Unity summit in Cairo in 1993, Isaias had criticized other leaders for staying in power for too long, and he had also rejected a cult of personality.

[31] The key elements were to include ambitious infrastructure development campaigns both in terms of power, transport, and telecommunications, as well as with basic healthcare and educational facilities.

[34] As a result of regional insecurity in 1998, Eritrea has a strong fiscal policy caused by a sharp drop in capital spending and reductions in revenue.

[35] The government has banned independent newspapers and arrested journalists critical of Isaias since 2001, including G-15: a group of People's Front for Democracy and Justice officials who appealed for an open election.

[37] The government has been accused of enforced disappearances; torture; arbitrary detention, censorship; libel; human trafficking; criminalizing same-sex activity; arbitrary and unlawful violations of privacy, judicial independence, freedom of speech, association, movement and religion; and forced labor (including national service past the 18-month legal obligation).

[39] During the Ethiopian Civil War, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) was initially inspired by the Eritreans and received assistance for their independence.

The United Nations Missions in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) ended in 2008, and Eritrean troops briefly occupied the Temporary Security Zone.

Ethiopia remained in control of the EEBC's border inside Eritrea and reached Badme, triggering mass mobilization and high troop concentrations in the area.

[43] Eritrea's unchanged stance reinforced the EEBC'S decision, which was backed by international law; Ethiopia remained in de facto compliance and had strong relations with the UN.

Abiy signed a "joint declaration of peace and friendship" at a bilateral summit on 9 July, restoring diplomatic and trade ties with Eritrea.

[46] This was widely acknowledged by numerous world leaders, with the UAE Government awarding Isaias the Order of Zayed (First Class) in recognition of his efforts to end the conflict.

Under international pressure, on 26 March 2021, after a meeting between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Isaias, it was announced that Eritrean troops would withdraw from the Tigray Region.

In conversation with Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council, he raised regional issues and the long-time dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The countries waged war in April 1996 when Djibouti accused Eritrea of shelling Ras Doumeira, a small village bounded by Ethiopia's Afar Region.

In June of that year, Djibouti deployed military force in the north to avoid an incursion during the war; French troops were involved with their Djiboutian counterparts.

Djiboutian President Hassan Gouled Aptidon's November 1998 attempt to mediate the Eritrean–Ethiopian War during the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit was rejected by Eritrea for perceived partiality.