Ambassador Konjit SineGiorgis, one of Ethiopia’s most distinguished diplomats and among its longest-serving foreign service professionals, has passed away at the age of 86 on 07 April 2026 following medical treatment.
Born in 1940 in Harar, eastern Ethiopia, Ambassador Konjit dedicated more than five decades to public service, building a diplomatic career that spanned multiple generations of leadership and major transitions in Ethiopia’s foreign policy landscape.
She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the early 1960s and rose through the ranks from a desk officer to senior leadership, becoming the second woman in Ethiopia’s history to attain ambassadorial rank, following Ambassador Yodit Emiru.
Throughout her career, she served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in key diplomatic missions in Ottawa, Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Vienna. She also held the position of Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), where she contributed to advancing Ethiopia’s multilateral engagement.
Ambassador Konjit also played a role in regional peace efforts, serving as Special Advisor during the IGAD-led South Sudan peace process between June 2017 and September 2019.
Her diplomatic service began in 1962, shortly before the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Early in her career, she worked on decolonization affairs at Ethiopia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Over the years, she held various posts both at headquarters in Addis Ababa and abroad, including in Austria, Egypt, Israel, Canada, and Mexico, as well as in New York, Vienna, and Geneva.
She later served as Ethiopia’s Permanent Representative to the OAU and subsequently to the African Union and UNECA, contributing to the institutional transition from the OAU to the AU. Her career spanned three successive Ethiopian governments, beginning during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Ambassador Konjit held a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from University College London and was a Carnegie Fellow at Columbia University. In recognition of her contributions, Addis Ababa University awarded her an honorary degree in 2016
