Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died in a hospital from an infection, Ethiopian state TV reported on Tuesday, according to RIA Novosti.

“The council of ministers this morning officially announced that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has passed away,” the broadcaster reported. Meles Zenawi, 57, had been receiving treatment abroad for the past two months.

Speculation about the health of Zenawi, one of the most influential African leaders, mounted after he failed to appear this July at the African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa, for the first time since his election in 1991.

Видео дня

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has been appointed the acting Prime Minister of Ethiopia.