Seyoum Mesfin was Ethiopia's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 2010 and served as Ethiopia's Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2017.
21 Facts About Seyoum Mesfin
1.
2.
Seyoum Mesfin later changed from Ambaye to Seyoum as a nom de guerre.
3.
Seyoum Mesfin attended Agazi Secondary School in Adigrat and Bahir Dar Polytechnic Institute from which he received a diploma in industrial chemistry in 1971.
4.
Seyoum Mesfin studied international law at the University of Amsterdam.
5.
Seyoum Mesfin was one of the founders of the Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front.
6.
On 23 March 2013, Seyoum Mesfin resigned from the TPLF Central Committee at its 11th meeting.
7.
Seyoum Mesfin was an executive member of the Central Committee of the EPRDF.
8.
Seyoum Mesfin was influential in the Eritrean Ethiopian war and on 18 June 2000, Seyoum Mesfin, and his Eritrean counterpart, Haile Woldetensae, signed a peace agreement ending the war.
9.
On 28 December 2004, Seyoum Mesfin made a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on the policy in the region, in particular the relationship of Ethiopia to Eritrea and Somalia.
10.
In 2007, Seyoum Mesfin indicated that Eritrea had breached the agreements that ended its war and Ethiopia might end all or part of those agreements.
11.
Seyoum Mesfin was a member of the House of Peoples' Representatives, representing Adigrat.
12.
Seyoum Mesfin visited Singapore in December 2012 to potentially set up an Ethio-Singapore Special Economy Zone and expand cooperation in aviation.
13.
In 2015, Seyoum Mesfin was the chief mediator of South Sudan's IGAD-mediated peace talks.
14.
Seyoum Mesfin urged both sides to end hostilities and form a transitional government.
15.
Seyoum Mesfin was chief executive officer of the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray from 2000 until early 2009.
16.
Seyoum Mesfin served as the Chairman for ten years until 2011 and was a member of the management board of Ethiopian Airlines.
17.
Seyoum Mesfin co-chaired these dialogues with the Chinese principal for the initiative, Ambassador Zhong Jianhua.
18.
Seyoum Mesfin had a close working relationship with Ambassador Zhong Jianhua, who was the former PRC Ambassador to Ethiopia and the Special Representative on African Affairs to the Chinese government.
19.
Seyoum Mesfin was married and had four children - three sons and one daughter.
20.
The TPLF claimed the veterans, including Seyoum Mesfin, were summarily executed.
21.
An obituary for Seyoum Mesfin, describing him as a "peacemaker and patriot", was published by Alex de Waal.