Ethiopian lawmakers on Thursday approved the appointment of intelligence chief Temesgen Tiruneh as the new deputy prime minister.

MPs also endorsed Taye Atske Selassie, Ethiopia's former ambassador to the United Nations and currently diplomatic adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, as foreign minister.

Both roles were previously held by Demeke Mekonnen, who was dropped as vice-president of Abiy's ruling Prosperity Party late last month in a move that foreshadowed Thursday's appointments.

A replacement has not yet been named for Temesgen at the head of the National Intelligence and Security Service.

Demeke had been deputy prime minister since 2012, shortly after being elected vice-president of the EPRDF, the coalition which ruled for nearly three decades until Abiy rose to power in 2018.

He had become foreign minister in November 2020 at the outset of the two-year war against Tigrayan rebels in northern Ethiopia.