ADDIS ABABA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - After weeks of absence,
Ethiopia announced on Tuesday the death of long-serving Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi after he succumbed to an undisclosed
illness.
So who might succeed him? The Horn of Africa country has
kept a tight lid on the affair but here are a few names that
have been widely touted:
HAILEMARIAM DESALEGN
Soft-spoken and humble, yet politically shrewd is how some
diplomats in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, describe the
47-year-old deputy to Meles.
A former university dean, Hailemariam will be sworn in as
acting prime minister by parliament, before the ruling party
holds a congress meeting to select a successor. A date has not
yet been set.
Hailemariam quickly rose through the ranks when he turned to
politics, serving as president of the Southern Nations,
Nationalities and People's Region in the south west of the
country from 2001 to 2006 prior to being named as an advisor to
Meles.
His pick as Meles' deputy in 2010 was a major surprise,
partly due to his relative young age. He is widely seen as the
late leader's protege.
He also replaced Meles as chair of a number of parliamentary
committees in the past few years, a tell-tale sign of grooming,
diplomats say.
AZEB MESFIN
The wife of Meles and mother of his three children, Azeb's
rise from closely-guarded first lady to a workaholic politician
and activist has inevitably raised speculation that Ethiopia
would do "a Kirchner" - in reference to Argentina's experience
in which the current leader Christina replaced her husband upon
his death.
A member of parliament, she has won numerous accolades for
her anti-HIV/AIDS campaign in the past few years and is chair of
a parliamentary body on social affairs.
She remains a polarising figure, however, with some members
of the country's ferociously anti-government Diaspora often
criticising her business activities.
TEWODROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS
Educated in Britain, Tewodros has been health minister since
2005 and has a string of achievements under his belt - including
a significant reduction in Ethiopia's child mortality rate -
that have won him international respect.
Tewodros has an outside chance for the posting. He told
Reuters in 2010, when Meles announced short-lived retirement
plans, he did not want to be prime minister. But he is also a
popular figure in his party, the ruling Ethiopian People's
Revolutionary Democratic Front.
ALEMAYEHU ATOMSA
Alemayehu is seen as a possible compromise candidate.
Alemayehu, currently head of the OPDO party that is allied
to Meles' EPRDF, is an Oromo, an ethnic group which, though
Ethiopia's largest in number, have never taken centre-stage
politically.
Meles was a Tigrayan, an ethnic group that accounts for just
6 percent of the population but came to dominate the political
establishment under Meles.
The Amhara ethnic group traditionally ruled the country and
are likely to lobby for one of their ruling party members to
take over after Meles' death.
(Editing by Richard Lough and Anna Willard)