Fitsum Assefa Adela

(Last updated during their term as a Commissioner - January 2022)

Fitsum Assefa Adela is a government policymaker serving as the Minister in charge of the Planning and Development Commission of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Being at the helm of the country’s key development planning and policymaking office, and a core member of the macroeconomic policy team in her capacity as the commissioner, Fitsum brings a whole-of-government approach to her leadership in economic policies, plans and programs, including the crafting and implementation of Ethiopia’s home-grown economic reform and its ten-year development plan. Fitsum also serves as the government’s representative liaising with the Independent Economic Advisory Council. Since 2018, she has also served as a board member of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. Before entering politics, Fitsum was a professor for more than a decade in the University of Hawassa in Ethiopia, where she undertook several impactful interdisciplinary studies focusing on environment and development, technology adoption, and poverty analysis with a focus on institutional factors. Fitsum holds a PhD in philosophy and agricultural economics from the University of Giessen in Germany; and an MA in development studies and bachelor’s degree in accounting from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia.