Unless we consider Maggie Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, & Angela Merkel great leaps forward in political leadership, there is no reason to herald the appointment of Sahle-Work Zewde as president of Ethiopia. It is anyway a ceremonial post; political power belongs to the prime minister. It is the character of her politics, not her gender, which should determine whether her appointment should be heralded or not.