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Abduselam Ademnur is an architect, entrepreneur, globetrotter — and since 2025, Iceland's Honorary Consul in Ethiopia. Everything about this appointment is unusual. Equally surprising are the similarities between Iceland and Ethiopia.

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On the talk show “diplo.international” on the capital broadcaster TV Berlin, Ademnur tells presenter Ewald König his extraordinary story about traveling with a “weak passport,” about prejudices at the borders and about how a chance encounter at a gas station changed not only his life but also the relationship between Iceland and Ethiopia.

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Travel against prejudice

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His T-shirt proudly displays the African continent with a clear message: “I come from Africa and I am a tourist.”

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This statement was deliberately chosen. Ademnur reports that during his travels through Europe, he had to explain again and again that he was not an asylum seeker but a tourist. Border agents demanded proof and asked many questions—often more than with other travelers.

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In order to deal with these situations, he developed his own concept: He openly shows who he is. His social media profiles with tens of thousands of followers, his photos, videos and now also a book about his travels serve as visible proof of his identity as a traveler. “My shirt is like my passport,” he says.

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74 countries — with one of the weakest passports in the world

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Ademnur has traveled to 74 countries so far — a significant number, particularly for an Ethiopian citizen. Because the Ethiopian passport allows visa-free entry to only around 20 countries. Each additional country requires time-consuming and often expensive visa procedures.

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For Ademnur, this is a clear example of global inequality in travel privileges. Yet he continues to travel — not just out of curiosity, but with a mission: He wants to show the world from the perspective of an African and at the same time prove that Africans are just as much tourists, creative people and storytellers as people from the global North.

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An encounter that changed everything

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The path to becoming an honorary consul began in Addis Ababa in 2018. During a nationwide state of emergency, Ademnur happened to meet an Icelandic motorcycle traveler who was on his way from Iceland to South Africa. Political unrest, a military coup in Sudan and the murder of a high-ranking general in Ethiopia had put the traveller in an extreme situation.

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Ademnur helped spontaneously: He organized the safe storage of the motorcycle, advised the traveller and assumed responsibility — although the two did not know each other before. The Icelander only returned months later and was able to continue his journey thanks to this help.

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Trust that built bridges

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Iceland only has two embassies in the whole of Africa, one of them in Uganda. In Uganda, the traveller told the Icelandic Ambassador about the exceptional support he had received in Ethiopia. The ambassador then traveled personally to Addis Ababa to express her thanks. This contact developed into a long-term relationship — and finally the question of whether Ademnur would be prepared to represent Iceland as an honorary consul in Ethiopia.

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The process took several years and included intensive reviews on both sides. In 2025, Ademnur finally officially received his appointment.

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An unusual consul

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The fact that an Ethiopian represents a European country initially caused a surprise — even among Ethiopian authorities. Nonetheless, his appointment was accepted after a long protocol process. Today, he supports Icelandic citizens in Ethiopia, takes part in diplomatic events and promotes exchange between the two countries.

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What connects the two countries is particularly interesting: geothermal energy. Both Iceland and Ethiopia have enormous volcanic and geothermal potential — a field with a future for cooperation.

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An honorable job for decades

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At 33 years of age, Ademnur is relatively young for an honorary consul. The Icelandic Foreign Minister told him with a wink that they need him “for the next 30 years.” In addition to his diplomatic role, he continues to work as an architect and entrepreneur in Addis Ababa and plans further trips and further books. His story shows how personal initiative, openness and trust can build bridges between continents — even though the bridge between Iceland and Ethiopia seems a somewhat exotic construct at first glance.

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The entire program diplo.international on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auaLEC5UQ3A

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