Abiy Ahmed's tenure as prime minister of Ethiopia began on 2 April 2018 with his swearing-in at the Ethiopian parliament, succeeding Hailemariam Desalegn.

Abiy is the first person of Oromo descent to hold the office,[1][2] and became chair of the ruling Prosperity Party after the dissolution of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in November 2019.

[3] After taking office, he released thousands of political prisoners and initiated a number of major reforms to downsize state-owned enterprises and encourage privatization.

[4] Ethnic factionalism and violence continued in other parts of the country, however, eventually becoming a crisis during his tenure; his government was criticized as increasingly authoritarian in the years after he received the prize.

Abiy became head of the ODP Secretariat and the Oromia Housing and Urban Development Office, and was elected to the executive committee of the EPRDF in early 2018.

Shiferaw Shigute, a head officer of the EPRDF, announced at a press conference that the council's meeting was successful; "heated debates were entertained and agreements reached to [widen] internal democracy within the party, tackling unprincipled networks and antidemocratic attitudes."

[11] On April 2, 2018, Abiy was sworn in as prime minister of Ethiopia in the House of Federation and promised to "build peaceful diplomatic relations with Eritrea, to work for inclusive development, combatting corruption in the democratic environment."

[11] Abiy's government released many political prisoners jailed by former EPRDF rulers, including activist Kinfe Michael Debebe, Ginbot 7 leader Andargachew Tsige and his colleague Berhanu Nega, and Oromo dissident and public intellectual Jawar Mohammed.

According to the Ethiopian attorney general, three Kenyan prisoners were pardoned and released after a bilateral agreement was signed between Ethiopia and Kenya to strengthen relations.

– discuss] Other critics expressed concern that the release of thousands of political prisoners would reduce faith in Ethiopia's criminal-justice system if they constituted a danger.

[21][22] Abune Merkorios, the fourth patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, returned to Ethiopia on August 1, 2018, after being exiled to the United States in 1991 and was warmly received at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.

[44][45][46] At the UNESCO World Press Prize ceremony on May 3, 2019, Abiy said that he would establish a "truly democratic political order and transform the media landscape" while avoiding misinformation.

[49] State monopolies include Ethiopian Airlines and Ethio Telecom, of interest to private investors with shares sold from the aviation, electricity, and logistics sectors.

[50] Ethiopian Airlines, Africa's largest and most profitable carrier, was offered for purchase by domestic and foreign investors; maintaining the majority of shares, the government planned to privatize it.

[51] State-owned enterprises in less critical sectors, including railway operators, sugar farms, industrial parks, hotels and manufacturing firms, may be fully privatized.

[55] Abiy spoke to Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) senior commanders in June 2018 about reforming the military, effectively limiting their role in politics.

[56] Abiy hoped to move the Ethiopian Navy into active duty so the landlocked country could join other naval forces, saying on state television: "We should build our naval-force capacity in the future.

According to Human Rights Watch and NetBlocks, politically-motivated shutdowns have been increasing in severity despite Ethiopia's recent reliance on rapid digitalization and cellular internet connectivity.

Djibouti had been seeking foreign investors due to the termination of Dubai's state-owned DP World concession and failure to have a contract for six years.

[64] The government announced that it would hold a 19-percent stake in Berbera Port, located in the unrecognized Republic of Somaliland, as part of a joint venture with DP World.

He ended the bilateral tension by signing a joint declaration of peace and friendship ensuring direct telecommunications, road, and aviation links using Massawa and Asseb.

[72] In July 2020, the Eritrean Ministry of Information said: "Two years after the signing of the Peace Agreement, Ethiopian troops continue to be present in our sovereign territories.

On 4 July 2018, a diplomatic meeting was held in Ethiopia to discuss the facilitation of foreign relations with Egypt and other Arab countries and coordinating with the private sector to serve Egyptian strategic interests.

Abiy pledged that the dam would not affect Egypt's share of Nile water agreed in the 1959 convention, reversing previous government decisions.

[76] In a January 2022 letter, he called on Sudan and Egypt to "nurture towards building peace, cooperation, mutual co-existence and development of all our people without harming one another.

[84] A bodyguard siding with nationalist factions assassinated Ethiopian National Defense Force general-staff chief Se'are Mekonnen and his aide, Major General Gizae Aberra.

The previous day, Abiy gave a speech in Parliament accusing "media owners who don't have Ethiopian passports" of "playing it both ways" (a reference to Jawar); "if this is going to undermine the peace and existence of Ethiopia ... we will take measures.

[117] On 18 December 2020, thefts by Amhara forces were reported by the Europe External Programme with Africa which included 500 dairy cows and hundreds of calves.

[118] In a victory speech[119][120][121][122][123][124] delivered to the federal parliament[125] on 30 November 2020, Abiy said: "Related to civilian damage, maximum caution was taken in just three weeks of fighting, in any district, Humera, Adi Goshu, Axum, Edaga Hamus.