Belete Molla

Belete Molla Getahun (Amharic: በለጠ ሞላ) is an Ethiopian politician who was appointed Minister of Innovation and Technology in 2021, and founder and chairman of the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA), a right-wing Amhara nationalist political party in Ethiopia.

Education Belete attended Kobbo Elementary and Senior Secondary School, he furthered his education to obtained a B.A Degree in Philosophy at Addis Ababa University, he later a M.A in Applied Ethics (Erasmus Mundus) jointly from the Norwegian University of Science and Linköping University (Sweden) and a M.A in Philosophy from Addis Ababa University, Belete has received PhD in philosophy from Addis Ababa University. During his academic years, he published several articles and books related on ethics, political economy, intercultural philosophy, hermeneutics and African philosophy. In 2007, Belete was a recipient of the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Award.

Career Academic career Belete joined the Department of Philosophy at Addis Ababa University in 2005. He coordinated the department's postgraduate programmes from September 2013 to December 2014 and was later appointed as chairperson of the department in 2015. In 2021 general election, NaMA won 5 seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives (HoPR). On 6 October 2021, he was elected as the Minister of Innovation and Technology.

Journal Articles

Rise and Fall of Essentialist Social Theories: Recapitulation and Critique.” Published in Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities/African Journal Online Beyond Cartesian Philosophy of Essentialism, and the Quest for Intercultural Discourse: Some Examples.” Published in Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities/African Journal Online

Recognition

Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Award from the European Union, 2007