U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki shake hands in Eritrea

Isaias Afewerki (born 1945) is the first president of Eritrea.

He became active in the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1966, and then became secretary general in 1987 of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), an offshoot of the ELF.

After Eritrean independence was granted in 1993, he became its first president, under a reorganised EPLF, now called the People's Front for Democracy and Justice. His rule has seen a long and bloody border war with Ethiopia.

Many international observers believe that Isaias is turning into a dictator; his country has banned all private media, imprisons more journalists than any other nation in the world and has not held any elections since independence (Eritrea is a one-party state). The Eritrean constitution was ratified in 1997 by a constituent assembly.