C.PMAC: Chairman of the Provisional
Military Administrative Council
HAILE SELASSIE I
1930-1974 (+1975) Emperor ("Negus")
AMAN ANDOM
1974 (+)S/C C.PMAC, military
TAFARI BENTI
1974-1977 (+)C C.PMAC, military
MENGISTU HAILE MARIAM 1977-1987
C.PMAC, military
MENGISTU HAILE MARIAM 1987-1991
President
TESFAYE GABRE KIDAN 1991
President (acting)
MELES ZENAWI
1991-1995 President (interim)
NEGASO GIDADA
1995-
President
Prime Ministers
MAKONNEN ENDELKACHEW
1942-1957 (+1963)
ABEBE ARAGAI
1957-1960 (+1960)
TESHAFI AKLILU ABTE-WOLD 1960-1974
(+1974)E
ENDELKACHEW MAKONNEN
1974 (+1974)E
MIKAEL IMRU
1974
FIKRE SELASSIE WOGDERESS 1987-1989
HAILE YIMENU
1989-1991 (+1991)S (acting)
TESFAYE DINKA
1991
(acting)
TAMIRAT LAYNIE
1991-1995 (acting)
MELES ZENAWI
1995-
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King Haile Selassie
The Later Reign of Haile Selassie: According
to the terms of the Allied peace treaty with Italy, signed in 1947, agreement
was to be reached within a year on the disposition of the former Italian
colonies of Eritrea, Italian
Somaliland, and Libya. In the absence
of such an agreement, however, the decision was left to the UN. The UN
General Assembly voted for the federation
of Eritrea with Ethiopia, to be completed by September 1952. In 1955 Haile
Selassie issued a revised constitution,
which was a half-hearted attempt to move the country into the 20th century.
For
example, it gave certain limited powers
to the Parliament. Progressive elements in the country, however, felt it
was
insufficient. After an unsuccessful
attempt by members of the imperial guard to overthrow Haile Selassie in
December
1960, the emperor increased government
efforts toward economic development and social reform. As the 1960s
progressed, Haile Selassie became increasingly
preoccupied with foreign affairs. In 1963 he played a leading role in the
formation of the Organization of African
Unity, which located its secretariat at Addis Ababa. During the following
year a long-standing border dispute
between Ethiopia and the Somali Republic erupted into armed warfare. A
truce,
agreed to in March, established a demilitarized
zone along the border, but hostilities recurred sporadically. Trouble
also arose in 1965 with Sudan, which
Ethiopia accused of abetting an Eritrean independence movement. The conflict
intensified when 7000 Eritreans fled
to Sudan in 1967 because of Ethiopian military reprisals against the secessionists.
In December 1970 the government declared
a state of siege in parts of Eritrea. The move failed, however, to end
the
guerrilla warfare. In the early 1970s
Haile Selassie continued to play a major role in international affairs,
helping to
mediate disputes between Senegal and
Guinea, Tanzania and Uganda, and nor thern and southern Sudan.
Never-the-less, he largely ignored
urgent domestic problems: the great inequality in the distribution of wealth,
rural
underdevelopment, corruption in government,
rampant inflation, unemployment, and a severe drought in the north
during 1972-75.The Mengistu Regime.
In February 1974 students, workers, and soldiers began a series of strikes
and
demonstrations that culminated on Sept.
12, 1974, with the deposition of Haile Selassie by members of the armed
forces. A Provisional Military Administrative
Council, or the Dirgue, was established to run the country, and in late
1974 it issued a program calling for
the establishment of a state-controlled socialist economy. In early 1975
all
agricultural land was nationalized,
and much of it was soon parceled out in small plots to individuals. In
March 1975
the monarchy was abolished, and Ethiopia
became a republic.