Meles Zenawi | |
|---|---|
መለስ ዜናዊ | |
 Meles in 2012 | |
| Prime Minister of Ethiopia | |
| In office 23 August 1995 – 20 August 2012 | |
| President | Negasso Gidada Girma Wolde-Giorgis |
| Preceded by | Tamirat Layne |
| Succeeded by | Hailemariam Desalegn |
| Interim President of Ethiopia | |
| In office 28 May 1991 – 22 August 1995 | |
| Prime Minister | Tesfaye Dinka Tamirat Layne |
| Preceded by | Tesfaye Gebre Kidan (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Negasso Gidada |
| Member of the House of People's Representatives | |
| In office 19 May 1995 – 20 August 2012 | |
| Constituency | Adwa |
| 1st Chairman of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front | |
| In office 8 May 1988 – 20 August 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| Succeeded by | Hailemariam Desalegn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Legesse Zenawi Asres 9 May 1955 Adwa, Tigray Province, Ethiopian Empire |
| Died | 20 August 2012 (aged 57) Brussels, Belgium[1] |
| Political party | Tigray People's Liberation Front |
| Other political affiliations | Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front Marxist–Leninist League of Tigray |
| Spouse | Azeb Mesfin |
| Children | 3 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Tigray People's Liberation Front |
| Years of service | 1975–1991 |
| Battles/wars | Ethiopian Civil War |
Meles Zenawi Asres (Tigringa and Amharic: መለስ ዜናዊ ኣስረስ; pronounced [mɛllɛs zenawi asrɛs] ), born Legesse Zenawi Asres (9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012)[2] was an Ethiopian politician and a former anti-Derg militant who served as president of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and as prime minister from 1995 until his death in 2012.
Born in Adwa to an Ethiopian father and an Eritrean mother, Meles became actively involved in politics after changing his original first name from Legesse to Meles, adopted following the execution of fellow university student Meles Takele by the Derg government in 1975. In that year, he left Haile Selassie I University to join the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and fight against the Derg (the Mengistu Haile Mariam-led military dictatorship in Ethiopia). In 1989, he became the chairman of the TPLF, and the head of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) after its formation in 1988.
After leading the EPRDF to victory in the Ethiopian Civil War, he served as president of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995,[3] then as the 2nd prime minister of Ethiopia from 1995 to his death in 2012.[4] Meles Zenawi's administration brought Ethiopia to ethnic federalism; he expressed his populist view that ethnic groups should share their own languages, culture and lands. An Eritrean referendum was held during his four-year presidency, which resulted in Eritrean secession from Ethiopia in 1993, but the two countries entered into a war owing to the territorial dispute from 1998 to 2000, during which 98,217 people were killed. In the 2005 general election, Meles's party EPRDF won and he remained as prime minister, while opposition parties strongly complained that the election was "stolen" and unfair. Shortly during and after the election, disastrous riots and protests sparked across Addis Ababa, in which 193 people were killed by police brutality.[5]
During his tenure, Ethiopia became one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.[6][7][8] Meles undertook major reforms to the country, including land reforms attempt to reduce serious droughts, school expansions, and agricultural interests. "Zenawism" refers to his principles and policies of ethnic federalism, especially those the TPLF advocated, and is the subject of academic study.[9][10] He died in Brussels on 20 August 2012 from an undisclosed illness.
- ^ "Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi dies after illness". BBC News. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ "How Meles Zenawi went from medical school dropout to Prime Minister 746 km from poly to medical college of bahirdar". The Guardian. London. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ "Ethiopians mourn strongman ruler Meles, dead at 57". Reuters. 25 August 2012.
- ^ TADESSE, KIRUBEL. "Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi Dead at 57". ABC News. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ Abbink, J. (2006). Discomfiture of democracy? The 2005 election crisis in Ethiopia and its aftermath. African affairs, 105(419), 173-199.
- ^ "Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dies at 57". The New York Times. 29 August 2012.
- ^ "Meles Zenawi". britannica. 16 August 2018.
- ^ "After Meles Zenawi: Implications for Ethiopia's Development". meleszenawi.com. 7 November 2012.
- ^ Messele, Bereket Eshetu (10 October 2020). "Splitting Southern Nations region into four can promote peace". Ethiopia Insight. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ Fessha, Yonatan (2019). "Ethiopia's Ethnic Federalism: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution". Verfassungsblog: On Matters Constitutional (in German). doi:10.17176/20190211-220709-0. Retrieved 23 March 2022.