This archive report was first published on 29 November 2019.
On November 29, 2019, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) elected Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok as its new chair, marking a significant shift in the regional bloc's leadership.
The decision, reached by consensus during the Ordinary Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was seen as a compromise to avert a potential fallout between Kenya and Djibouti, which had previously differed over the seat.
Hamdok will take over from Ethiopia, which has held the position since 2010, and will serve as the chair for one year, giving him a new level of influence just months after he became the head of Sudan's transitional government formed after the ouster of Omar al-Bashir.
Abdalla Hamdok's election comes at a time when Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had been holding the position since April 2018, and had previously been preceded by his predecessors Meles Zenawi and Hailemariam Desalegn, who had held the position since 2010.
The Ordinary Summit, which was the first in ten years, allowed Addis Ababa to dominate the bloc, and an official communication is expected to be released later on the same day.
