Isaias Afwerki

About

Isaias Afwerki (Tigrinya: ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, pronounced [isajas afwɐrkʼi] ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and dictator who has served as the president of Eritrea since its independence in 1993 and the chairman of the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) since 1994.
Isaias joined the pro-independence Eritrean Liberation Front in 1967 and quickly rose through the ranks to become its leader in 1970, before defecting to form the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). Having consolidated power within this group, he led pro-independence forces to victory on 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia, before being elected president of the newly founded country of Eritrea two years later.
Western scholars and historians have long considered Isaias to be a totalitarian leader, with Eritrea’s constitution remaining unenforced, electoral institutions effectively being nonexistent, and a policy of mass conscription. The United Nations and Amnesty International have cited him for human rights violations. In 2024, Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea, under the government of Isaias, last out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index, lower…