ADDIS ABABA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian House of Peoples' Representatives (HoPR), the Ethiopian parliament's lower house, on Thursday approved the appointment of Gedu Andargachew as the new foreign affairs minister of Ethiopia.

Andargachew, who was the former president of Ethiopia's second largest regional state of Amhara, was appointed as the new foreign affairs minister, replacing Workneh Gebeyehu.

Andargachew's appointment followed the appointment of Gebeyehu, a veteran Ethiopian politician, as the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month.

In addition to the appointment of Andargachew as the new foreign minister, the HoPR also on Thursday approved Lemma Megersa, the current president of Ethiopia's largest Oromia regional state, as the new Ethiopian minister of defense.

It has also approved the appointment of Aisha Mohammed, Ethiopia's former defense minister, as the Housing Development and Construction Minister.

The Ethiopian parliament's lower house approved the appointment of the incoming three ministers upon the endorsement of the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Chala Lemi, Deputy Government Whip, while addressing members of the Ethiopian parliament, said the appointment of the three ministers would help strengthen the overall administration platform.

The HoPR, in October last year, had approved a draft motion that downsized the number of cabinet members to 20 in a major government overhaul, down from 28 previously.

Apart from the cabinet restructure, Ethiopian government's cabinet of ministers also marked a record number of female members, who take up half of seats. Enditem

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