Dr. Mulat Demeke was born in Bokoji Arsi in 1956. He got his B.Sc. degree in Agricultural Economics from the then Alemaya College of Agriculture in 1980. He started his professional career the same year as a research assistant at the then Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center, which was administered by the then Alemaya College of Agriculture at that time. Soon after, he joined the Economics Graduate program at the Addis Ababa University and graduated with an M.Sc. degree in Economics in 1984. Dr. Mulat Demeke got his PhD degree in Development Economics from Strathclyde University (UK) in 1989.
Between 1994 and 2008, Dr. Mulat Demeke was a faculty member of the Department of Economics at the Addis Ababa University and has taught several courses and conducted various research projects and supervised many undergraduate and post graduate students. He has also served as the Associate Dean (for three years) and then as the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics of Addis Ababa University between 2001and 2005.
He joined the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2008 at the FAO Headquarters in Rome and provided technical advice to different countries on managing food price volatility, coordinating the publication of several reports, and conducting analytical work in the area of food and nutrition security. Since August 2016, he was transferred to FAO/Kenya as a Senior Policy Officer to support the operationalization of the Food and Nutrition Security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and Transformation (FIRST) Programme in the country.
Dr. Mulat has published extensively in local and international journals primarily focusing on agricultural issues. Apart from his excellent research record, he also contributed to the advancement of economics in the country through his leadership role in the Ethiopian Economics Association (EEA). Among other responsibilities, Dr. Mulat served as an Executive Committee member of the Association from 2002 to 2011 and specifically as a Vice President of the Association from 2005 to 2011. We are all very grateful for his impactful contributions! Dr. Mulat has passed away on April 4, 2023, after a long illness in the United States of America. He is survived by his wife and three children. He was a selfless individual, always ready to support others. Alas, he passed on much too soon!
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
May His Soul Rest in Peace!
Ethiopian Economics Association
