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Afewerk Tekle finds love at last

Proving love knows no boundaries,the 77-year-old Ethiopia’s celebrated artist, Afewerk Tekle has wed a woman he has known for some years.
The Honorable Artist World Laureate tied the knot on May 23, 2009, in traditional Orthodox Church ceremony held at the St. George Cathedral, to a woman he acknowledged has stood by him when he underwent surgery recently, to remove kidney stone. His best man were Wubeshiet Workalemahu, another personality known for pioneering commercial advertising and Maru Tefera, founder of Maru Industry (MMI).

Categories: City Journal
  1. Addis
    June 1, 2009 at 9:16 am

    cool!

  2. tewulate sim
    June 1, 2009 at 11:20 am

    gossip of celibacy is gone away!
    Congratulation Afewerq

  3. Juru
    June 1, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    Ooops! I thought he’s gay 😦

  4. June 1, 2009 at 4:00 pm

    I am young and well educated. But, lonely and horny, at the same time I am reading 77 years old marring a virgin. OH….God.
    No Wife!
    No Justice

  5. ETENU
    June 1, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    Celibacy gone away, thanks to Viagra and modern day drugs. Afewerk is entitled to practice being a man. Congratulations Afewerk, live life to the fullest, you probably live to be a 100 depending how good of a woman you married. Amen.

    Justice for all out their, who are young and haven’t found their mate.

    Glory be to God, Baheilu , You are young, don’t worry, for every pot there is a lid. Marriage is the best institute to be in, and I want to remind you it could be hell too.

  6. ETENU
    June 1, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    justice for all out there, didn’t proof read.

  7. ETENU
    June 2, 2009 at 3:06 am

    My friend said, “” Congratulations to Ethiopian Picasso” Is he that good of an artist or is Gebrekirstos better than him.

  8. Mesfin
    June 2, 2009 at 4:06 am

    c’mon how dare could you compare Laureate Afwork with G/Kirestos Desta. The later is more popular with his Amharic poems not that much with his paintings as Afwork Tekle.

  9. June 2, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Awwww 🙂 Gash Wubshet and Ababa Maru. How romantic!

    I wonder how old the woman is. And if she, like me, has heard the rumor that The Most Honourable World Laureate Maître Artiste AfeworQ Tekle may be gay.

    Etenu & Mesfin:
    I don’t know much about these Artists’ work of — erm– Art. But The Most Honorable yadda yadda yadda AfeworQ Tekle is alive. Painter/Poet Gebrekristos Desta is dead. You can’t beat a dead man, whatever amount of work you dished out (which I doubt is the truth with Gash Afe, am i correct?) since none of us know “sentegnaw semai” his work would have taken us had he lived.

    When comparing a work of art, here is a little formula I use: Judge a “dirSet” by how real the characters are. A poetry by how capable the poet was in making you experience it. A “se’il”, well, by the seali’s appearance. A good “se’ili” tries to set himself apart using his brush, a bad “se’ili” tries to set himself apart using his hair. Most of the time anyway 🙂 .

    • Insider
      June 4, 2009 at 5:47 am

      I know the lady is not young. Somewhere between fifty five and sixty.
      This is a daring thing to do for the artist because many of closet friends were against the marriage saying it isn’t appropriate to wed at this late age. One was playwright and poet Ayalneh Mulatu who wrote the script for the documentary film. He was angry that he skipped the ceremony.

  10. selam
    June 2, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    I rather see Gebre Krestos art any day than Ato. Afeworks. I think Gebre Krestos was born at the wrong time. He is the first to introduce modern art to Ethiopia.
    He was way advanced for his time.

    Any way I am happy for Afework. Wish him the best.

  11. ETENU
    June 2, 2009 at 8:35 pm

    I am very happy for Afework too. Gebrekirstos and Afework both deserve our respect and admiration, I should never have compared one with the other. Their ingenuity is worthy of special notice. Is Afeworks house at old air port now an art museum or does he still live there. I want to know how old the woman is, I hope not a young gold digger who wants to find her way to his wealth or find fame through him, whatever she may be I wish both success and health and longivity. Laureate Maitre Artiste Afeworq if you read this blog please answer, Did you ever grow beard? or you always shaved well, I watched a video and saw you dancing and you are a Fred Aster, very good dancer, where did you learn how to dance in those days. May be it is none of my business, anyone out there who has the answer, I have to explain to my artist daughter who brought out this question.

    • Insider
      June 10, 2009 at 4:47 pm

      a young gold digger !
      Oh, no, she could be anyhting but a gold digger!
      The spouse, Kelemu Wageye is an aristocart who has her own import-export business and a big vila in the Old Airport area.
      She splits her time to live in Ethiopia and the US.
      Nothing to worry about.

  12. Sol
    June 3, 2009 at 6:35 am

    I’ve never heard that Afewerk is gay. What I hear over and over again, sorry if I sound rude, he is short of the thing between two of his leg.

    • melash desta
      May 23, 2013 at 12:36 am

      That is better sol. A gay marries a gay only.

  13. ETENU
    June 3, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    What I heard for sure was , he was a decon as a child and they use to slash the thing in between their legs so they remain cellbate. Celibacy was a religious vow young men were forced to accept, then the society calls them”Selib”. Abstinence from sexual intercourse was imperative. whether they are Selib or not Selib, I have seen so many Kesses in Godar whom people call Selib, nothing dangling between their legs, uretheral orfice for urinating only, may be someone from the Coptic church should elaborate on this topic.

  14. Observer
    June 5, 2009 at 3:32 pm

    ROFL Etenu you killing me with your commentls

  15. Wurgatu
    June 6, 2009 at 8:52 am

    Sol
    u didn’t sound rude to me…u just stated what we grew up talking…his marriage doesn’t prove zat he has that thing real…..pls God make this thing true…it is better to be gay than to have notin…i think

  16. Hakinew
    June 12, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    He is one of the best son of Ethiopia ever have and we are proud of him. But in his personal life, he is known as having nothing to accomplish as a man and how on earth he got the gut to get married a lady in the church ceremony. There was a noble lady passed more than 20 years of her time by taking care of him and what happened to her now as he simply dumped her and married another one. They passed many events together and she is in his biography book with all her family members. Anyways, he deserve happiness and all of us wish him to have a happy and long lasting marriage!

  17. judy block
    December 21, 2009 at 10:19 pm

    I spent some time in Addis Ababa this summer where I saw Eshetu Tiruneh’s painting “Meysaw Kassa”. I would love to find a print of this piece of art and I”m having a very difficult time finding any helpful website or email address. I came across your site and thought perhaps you could help me.

    Perhaps you have an idea for me.

    Thanks.

    Judy Block
    judyblock66@gmail.com

  18. DANIEL TEWOLDE
    January 8, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    I AM HAPPY FOR HIM CAUSE MARRIAGE IS GOOD THING AND BETTER YOU GET MARRIED THAN DIYNIG WITH OUT IT ,AS FAR AS HIS SEXUAL LIFE WE MAY ALL TALK RABBISH WITH OUT PROOF BUT HE IS THE RIGHT PERSONE TO COME OUT AND SAY IT WHAT EVER TO SAY SINCE HE IS A PUBLIC FIGURE THE ETHIOPIAN PEOPLE DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH OTHER WISE WE ARE GOING TO HEAR A LOT OF RUBBISH AFTER HIS TIME IS FINISHED .

  19. Jacqueline
    January 28, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    Does it really matter if Afework is/was gay or short of something? An educated, interesting, artistic and fine feeling person as he probably still is can be just the dream husband many “middleaged” women would like to meet. There’s such a lot more to share in a love connection than sex! I am so glad for him that he finally found someone who would love him for all he has to offer. Congratulations, Afework!
    Greetings from an old Swiss friend.

  20. Calvin Chimutuwah
    May 30, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    I have just been overwhelmed by Tekle ‘s achievements and through out his website I couldn’t help noticing a gap – a woman and family in his life. However his personal life is his own privacy- I respect the works and achievements – I’ve just been inspired. Keep it up till you grow older and colder to death.

    I’m also an artist barely 30 years old and I also want to leave a mark like Tekle. I wish I could share some studio time with him and tap to his wisdom from his experiences of the artworld. If you know of any opportunities for workshops and art residency offered by Tekle I would be happy to apply.

  21. Tesfay
    April 13, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    Am very Saddened and Shocked bt the sudden death of The World Honorable Leuret Meter Artist Afewerk Tekle! Had It been possible i Wish This Gentle man would have lived for ever. There is this Ethiopian proverb,that goes like this; let one thousand die instead of the father of one thousand. this year only we lost Sibhat Gebre egziabher and Mamo Wudineh many more in the past and how many more are we going to loose from our extraordinary yester years people. God Bless all our late people who contributed to Ethiopia for its image,dignity and respect!

  22. Amare Gebru
    August 5, 2012 at 8:33 am

    I am the lover of Afework Tekle .I have attended his funeral ceremony.I expect some kind of memorial statue to be constructed to this Ethiopian hero.But still it is not put in to practice.What happen please ? It is disappointing! please he is not the person to be left in such condition for months.For me he is the best of bests.As to me His honor and contribution is more than any of the political and religious leaders in Ethiopia.There fore the government has to take the initiative to construct his memorial statue or at least to organize it . What about Ato wubshet ? Please inform the situation to the public at least if some thing in process. I also would like to thank the government and EOC because of their support during the funeral ceremony.

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