Hirut Kassaw is the Minister of Culture and Tourism from October 2018 – October 2021. Hirut has a BA in Ethiopian Languages and Literature from Kotebe Teachers College. She has also an MA in Teaching Amharic and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Addis Ababa University. Hirut was the head of the Amhara National Regional State Culture and Tourism Bureau and a faculty member of Bahir Dar University before appointed to her current ministerial position.