Roman Tesfaye

Roman Tesfaye Abneh (; Wolaytta: Aabinee Tasfaayee Ooromaano; born 16 April 1968) is an Ethiopian politician and activist who was the third First Lady of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from September 2012 to February 2018. She is married to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. She holds two master's degrees in economics and leadership. Prior to her position as First Lady, she served in Arba Minch University in South Ethiopia Regional State, as a lecturer of Economics, economic advisor to South Region's administration, Federal level as the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, South Ethiopia as the administrator of Regional Bureau of Finance and Economic Development, Regional Secretariat for the National Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Preparation, and the Bureau of Plan and Economic Development.

She has also previously held high level roles within the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, and for two terms she has served as an active member of South Ethiopia Regional State Parliament. She focused her attention on building economic opportunities for Ethiopian women, addressing nutrition and education for youth, and promoting the global health initiative, Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon that combats cervical and breast cancer, the leading causes of cancer deaths among women in sub‐Saharan Africa.

Background

Early life Roman Tesfaye was born in a small town near Wolaita Sodo called Gacheno, South Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia. She is of the Wolayta ethnic group of Ethiopia, the first largest in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR). Her family belongs to the Apostolic Church of Ethiopia, a Oneness Pentecostal denomination that is not part of the mainstream Ethiopian Protestant Christianity (Pentay), which believes in Trinitarianism. Married to Hailemariam Desalegn, she is also well known to be both a religious and family woman.

School feeding program

Mother of three daughters, Roman, who was the first lady between September 2012 and February 2018, takes an active role in the education and nutrition of children. Having grown up in the countryside, she believes that education is an effective way to break the cycle of poverty. After reading a report of the Addis Ababa Education Bureau in 2014 showing that thousands of children were about to drop out of school because of malnutrition, Roman sprang into action immediately.

In 2015, together with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), she initiated a school feeding program called Smiling Children Project covering 42 public primary schools in Addis Ababa. Today, the project has been providing free breakfast and lunch to 22,000 students in the capital.