President of Ethiopia

President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Coat of Arms
Incumbent Mulatu Teshome since 7 October 2013
Residence	National Palace, Addis Ababa
Term length	Six years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Mengistu Haile Mariam
Formation	10 September 1987

The President of Ethiopia, officially the President of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia is the head of state of Ethiopia. The position is largely a ceremonial one, with executive power effectively being exercised by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. The current president is Mulatu Teshome, who took office on 7 October 2013. Presidents are elected by the House of Peoples' Representatives for six years, with a two-term limit.

The presidency was created in its original form by the 1987 Constitution, which established the Communist People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. He was elected to a five-year term by the National Shengo (legislature), with no term limits. He was vested with sweeping executive powers. For instance, when the Shengo was out of session, he had the right to appoint a number of state officers. Although such appointments required legislative confirmation, in practice this was merely a formality. He was also chairman of the Council of State, which acted for the Shengo when it was out of session. While he, like all other state officers, was nominally responsible to the Shengo, in practice the principles of democratic centralism effectively made him a dictator. The only president under this system was Mengistu Haile-Mariam.

Following the overthrow of the Communist regime at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War, the presidential office took its current form in stages, culminating in the adoption of the current constitution in 1995.

The president is elected by an absolute majority in the House of Peoples' Representatives. If no candidate has received an absolute majority by the third round of voting, a simple majority is sufficient. When electing the president, members of the parliament vote by a show of hands.