Former Governor of Afar Region Sultan Alimirah Dies aged 74

ADDIS ABABA – Sultan Hanfare Alimirah, sultan of Afar people, passed away on September 19 after a recent illness, according to the region’s communication bureau.

Sultan Alimirah, 74, returned back from exile in 2018 after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration opened the political space in the East African nation.

Alimirah, who was the president of the Afar regional state during Ethiopia’s transitional period in early 1990s, has been serving as Ethiopia’s ambassador to Qatar until his final day, the bureau said.

In a message posted on Twitter, Kontie Moussa, Afar People’s Party official, said “Afar lost one of our times greatest leader Sultan Hanfare Alimirah”.

The Sultan “was reckoned for his courage, wisdom and generosity,” he said, adding. “Rest in peace our father!”.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Abiy said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of Sultan Alimirah. “My sincere condolences to his family and friends,” the PM twitted.

The funeral will be held in Assaita city of Afar region on Monday, announced the region’s communication bureau

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Photo Twitter/Kontie Moussa]