ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia's new prime minister is to be sworn into office on Friday.

Hailemariam Desalegn is the hand-picked successor of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died Aug. 20 after ruling Ethiopia for more than two decades. Hailemariam is a former deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister under Meles.

Hailemariam's ascension to prime minister has been delayed for at least a month after an emergency meeting of parliament was canceled last month.

Shimeles Kemal, communications state minister, said Tuesday that Hailemariam will take the oath Friday morning.

The extraordinary parliament session follows a meeting by the leadership of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front, which on Saturday named Hailemariam its leader. The party controls 545 of the country's 547 parliament seats, ensuring Hailemariam will be approved Friday.
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AP