44 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020Q&A
FORBES AFRICAFORBESAFRICA.COMPhotobyWaldo Swiegers/BloombergviaGettyImagesS
AHLE-WORKZEWDEHASHERNAMEETCHEDIN
politicalhistory.A veteranpublicofficialhavingservedasan
ambassadortoSenegal,Djibouti,andFrancebetween 1989
and2006,beforeherpresidency,ZewdewasSpecial
RepresentativetotheAfricanUnionandHeadoftheUnited
NationsOfficetotheAfricanUnion.Inanemailinterview,
Zwede,whowasalsoonFORBESAFRICA’slistof‘Africa’s
50 MostPowerfulWomen’foritsMarchissue,dwellson why
the‘Africawewant’willonlybecomea realitywith
thepositiveandsignificant transformation of
women’slives:Inyourposition,howareyoumovingto
achievemoregenderproportionality
inEthiopianpolitics?
I seemybeinginthispositionasboth
anopportunityandresponsibility.I
knowthatit ispoliticalwillthathas
openedthewayformeandmanyother
womentoassumepositionsofpower
andinfluenceinthePresidencyandthe
ministerialcabinetinEthiopia.Thisstride
isa majorstepforwardforEthiopiaasa nation
andalsoforthecontinent.However,thingscanregress
andgobacktohowtheywereunlesswetakestrategicand
intentionalactiontobuildonthemomentum.Forme,theway
forwardisusingmyplatformtoempowerandemboldenthe
womencomingafterme.Thiscanoccurintwoways.Thefirst
isworkingonempoweringthewomenwhoareintheworkforce
andespeciallyinpositionsofleadershiptoreachtheirfull
potentialandengageinactivitiesthatprovideopportunitiesfor
thenextgenerationofwomenleaders.Thesecondishelping
femalestudentsatboththeuniversityandhighschoollevelsto
ensurethatwehavea steadystreamofcompetent,educatedand
confidentwomenreadytotakeover.Aswomeninpower,we
havea responsibilitytoallthewomenthatwillcome after us to
ensure that their trajectory is easier than ours.Sahle-WorkZewde,Ethiopia’sfirstfemalepresidentandtheonly
servingfemaleheadofstateinAfrica,tellsFORBESAFRICAwhy
more leaders should use soft power to achieve shared growth.‘IT’S THE PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE
CONNECTIONS THAT MAKE
A LASTING IMPACT’
HowmustAfricachangeinthisregard?
Althoughmoreprogresshasbeenachievedintermsof
deliveringonourpromisetoprovidesupporttowardswomen’s
education,healthservices,accesstofinanceandpolitical
participationina growingnumberofAfricancountries,much
moreneedstobedone.Asa continent,wemustgobeyondthe
rhetoricandprovidetangiblesolutionsforAfricanwomeninall
sectors.The‘Africawewant’willonlybecomea realitywiththe
positiveandsignificanttransformationofwomen’slivesand the
extentoftheirparticipationinallwalksoflife.Whatdothewords‘power’and‘softpower’
meantoyou?
Thereisa cleardistinctionbetween‘power’and
‘softpower’.Whilethefirstusesanymeansto
achievea goal,thelatterreliesoninfluence
throughcommunication,understandingand
healthydiscourse.Softpowerdoesnotresort
toviolenceorcoercivemethodstoachieve
theresultssought.Servingasa diplomatfora
quartercenturyandattheUnitedNationsforover
a decade,I becameveryknowledgeableoftheutility
ofsoftpowertoreachconsensusandeffectuatechange.
Forme,theideaofsoftpoweriswhatweneedtopromoteas
a continent.Fordecades,ourcontinenthasbeenravagedbycivil
war,ethnicconflictandinfighting.
However,Africaisnowenjoyingmoreeconomicgrowththan
it haseverhad.Whatweneednowismoreleaderstoexercise
softpower,findingwhatunitesustoachievea visionofshared
growth.Traditionalgovernanceseesthegovernmentasthesole
ownerandexecuterofinternationalrelations.However,with
ourincreasinglyglobalizedworld,it’sthepeople-to-people
connectionsthatmakea trueandlastingimpactandbond.
Leadersoftodayhavetodetachfromtraditionalviewsand
adopt the more global perspectivethetimesrequire.- Interviewed by Renuka Methil