Veteran Diplomat Ambassador Konjit Passes Away

Addis Ababa, April 7, 2026 (ENA) — Veteran Ethiopian diplomat Konjit Sinegiorgis has passed away while receiving medical treatment, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

In a statement, the Ministry noted that Ambassador Konjit joined the foreign service in the 1950s at a young age and rose through the ranks from a desk officer to senior leadership positions, serving her country with distinction for more than five decades.

She made history as the second female ambassador in Ethiopia, following Yodit Imru, and became one of the country’s longest-serving diplomats.

Ambassador Konjit served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Ethiopian missions in Ottawa, Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Vienna, with additional accreditation to Mexico. She also represented Ethiopia as the Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

According to the Ministry, she further served as a Special Advisor in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development-led South Sudan peace process from June 2009 to September 2011.

Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ambassador Konjit pursued her higher education at University College London, earning a degree in International Relations in 1954. She later received a fellowship at Columbia University in 1963 and an honorary degree from Addis Ababa University in 2016.

Her diplomatic career began in the early 1960s, around the time of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity. She served in various capacities in New York City, Vienna, and Geneva, including work on decolonization affairs at Ethiopia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

Throughout her 53-year career, Ambassador Konjit made significant contributions to Ethiopia’s diplomatic engagements and played a pivotal role in the transformation of the Organization of African Unity into the African Union.

Despite early challenges, including gender-based barriers when she first sought employment, she persevered and became a trailblazer for women in diplomacy.

In her farewell remarks at the African Union in 2015, she reflected on her lifelong dedication, stating, “My career has been my life… there is no greater honor than serving one’s country to the fullest.”

Ambassador Kongit Sinegiorgis was born in Harar, Ethiopia, in 1940.