Daniel Bekele

Daniel Bekele (Amharic: ዳንኤል በቀለ; 17 February 1967) is an Ethiopian lawyer, human rights expert and activist. He was detained from 2005 to 2008 for his election monitoring report and complaints about irregularities of the 2005 Ethiopian general election. In 2025, Berhanu Adelo was appointed Chief Commissioner replacing Daniel Bekele.

Youth and education Daniel Bekele was born in the city of Addis Ababa on . The German Africa Award in 2021 2021 German Africa Prize for his commitment to defending human rights and democracy., Ethiopia Annual Bego Sew Award in 2022 for Public Service Leadership, Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism in 2009 from Human Rights Watch, and The Prisoners of Conscience Post-Graduate Study Award in 2009 from Prisoners of Conscience Appeal Fund

Points of view In addition to his advocacy for human rights, peace, justice and development, Daniel has written on a wide range of topics including "Getting Natural Resources Governance Right"; How the Truth Commission in The Gambia should complement Justice; How Africa's leaders should address the problems that hinder the development of the continent's natural resources; Urging Nigeria's former President Buhari to apologize for his sexist remarks; Urging the AU to put human rights first; as well as urging the United States and the European Union to put human rights first and instead of "pay[ing] lip service" to human rights violations in