Will the real “First Lady” please stand up?

We’ve all heard & and been upset with it (perhaps for various reasons). The Amharic equivalent of the word “First Lady”, (“Qedamawit Emebet”) being applied to P.M. Meles Zenawi’s wife. However, is Azeb Mesfin really a first lady?According to Wikipedia, a reliable and dear friend of mine, the word “First Lady” is a term applied to the wife of an elected male head of state. And Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, although the real leader behind the crown, ISN’T ‘head of state’… yet, anyway. There is a man he is supposed to report to and bow before the signature of. This dude is real, alive and well. Well.. maybe not that well but alive enough to embarass those shallow Ethiopians (like me) who like to have their president good and functional. It’s not known if this man has a wife, but if he does, the good lady would definitely go by a different name. So you’d think, atleast for appearances sake, the ENA people not to refer to his 2nd in command’s wife as “Qedamawit Emebet”. Don’t you? Unless they are trying their hands on political satire. Which is very unlike them.*Azeb Mesfin is an Ethiopian women’s right activist, businesswoman, member of parliament, and political spouse. She is also the vice President of Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA).[1]Azeb is the wife of Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi and the mother of three children, Semhal, Marda and Senay Meles.*