Eritrea’s President Issaias Afwerki bids for regional greatness
But his latest gamble is risky
SHY AND awkward, the teenage Issaias Afwerki did not stand out. As a student in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, the future president was known less for his bookish brilliance than for sudden flashes of temper. One day in the early 1960s his physics teacher, an American, handed him a particularly shoddy mark. Issaias walked calmly to the front of the class and slapped him in the face. An act of vindictiveness as well as self-confidence, it was characteristic of the man for the rest of his life.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Master of the Horn?”
Middle East & Africa May 22nd 2021
- Eritrea’s President Issaias Afwerki bids for regional greatness
- The struggle to save a South African language with 45 click sounds
- A Nigerian plan to reconcile farmers and herders is not working
- Why vessels passing near Iran may have trouble staying on course
- King Muhammad of Morocco weaponises migration
From the May 22nd 2021 edition
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