Hon. Dr. Samuel Urkato

Hon. Dr Samuel Urkato, Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

H.E. Dr. Samuel Urkato, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Cabinet Minister since October 2018, is the Minister of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) – which is the mandated Federal Government Executive body responsible to promote and regulate the development of the mineral and petroleum resources of the country.Prior to his appointment as Minister, he held a high profile portfolio as the President of Wolaita Sodo University. H.E. Dr. Urkato possesses an extensive professional experience in resource governance and developmental economics.

H.E. Dr. Urkato holds MSc in Economics from Mekelle University (Development Policy Analysis), and holds a BA degree in Economics from Hawassa University. He completed a PhD exchange study in the Department of Resource and Agricultural Economics at Kangwon National University, the Republic of Korea. He also attended a PhD exchange study in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance of McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, USA. H.E. Dr. Urkato finalized his PhD degree in Environment and Development Studies (AAU).

H.E. Dr. Samuel Urkato is highly committed to the transformation of Ethiopia’s Mining sector, striving towards elevating the sector’s contribution to the GDP.