Semere Russom began his professional life as a teacher. He traveled to the United States as a student at the University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

, but terminated his studies in 1976 to serve in the Eritrean People's Liberation Front

Eritrean People's Liberation Front

The Eritrean People's Liberation Front was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as an intellectual left-wing group that split from the Eritrean Liberation Front .-Background:...

.

After Eritrea's independence he served as Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

n ambassador to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Afterwards he continued his career in public service as Director of European Affairs in the Eritrea Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 2001.

On 2002-01-01 he left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to become the Mayor of Asmara

Asmara

Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...

 and the Administrator of the Central

Maekel

The Maekel Region , known as the Regione Centrale in italian, is one of the six regions of Eritrea.-Overview:It is the smallest region in area, and contains the major city and national capital, Asmara...

Region of Eritrea. In April 2007 he was appointed to head the Ministry of Education while continuing service as the Mayor and Administrator of Asmara, and the Central Region respectively.