Girma Wake

Girma Wake (born 23 June 1943) is an Ethiopian business executive who has served as acting chief executive officer of Uganda Airlines since 16 February 2026. and served as the chairman of the board of directors of Rwandair from 2012 until 2017. Girma returned to Ethiopian Airlines in 2018 by joining its board of directors and was elevated to chairman in 2022.

In June 2023, Girma was replaced as chairman by Yilma Merdassa, who is the head of the Ethiopian Air Force The company stated in a press release that Girma's "contribution to the growth and success of the airline group has been enormous and will take a special place in the history of the group"

Early life and education Girma was born in 1943 in Yeka district, Addis Ababa. He attended the Dejazmatch Wondiyirad School and then the Kotebe Teacher's College. He attended the University College of Addis Ababa, then the country's only higher education institution. He was recruited in his second year by the airline.

Career Girma joined Ethiopian Airlines upon his graduation in 1965. At the time, the airline was dominated by Americans, primarily from TWA, which had assisted in the airline's development. Girma was one of the first Ethiopians to rise in the airline's executive hierarchy. Girma stayed at the airline for nearly three decades, until debates in 1993 between the new Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front government and the airline leadership led to several resignations, including that of Girma.

In November 2003, Seyoum Mesfin, chairman of Ethiopian Airlines, and then-minister of foreign affairs, offered Girma, then at Gulf Air as head of cargo operations, the position of Ethiopian Airlines' CEO. Girma, then 60, was at first reluctant to take the position but he eventually relented with the intention for only staying in the post for five years and also serving the carrier without government interference under his leadership. In December 2018, he joined the board of directors of Ethiopian Airlines Group.