Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has appointed Lieutenant General Asrat Denero as commissioner of the Addis Ababa Police Commission, replacing outgoing commissioner Getu Argaw who had served in the role for nearly seven years.
The appointment, announced by the prime minister’s office on Wednesday, also named Assistant Commissioner Tofiq Meded and Erziq Isa as deputy commissioners of the city police authority.
Lieutenant General Asrat is a long-serving officer in the Ethiopian National Defence Force. He previously served as chief of the army’s land forces and earlier headed the military’s intelligence directorate.
He has also held operational roles, including leading a command post established to address security challenges in the Metekel zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region following unrest in the area.
In addition to his military assignments, Asrat served as a representative of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development monitoring ceasefire and transitional security arrangements in South Sudan.
The new leadership will oversee policing and public security in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s political and commercial centre.