Meles Zenawi

Meles Zenawi መለስ ዜናዊ
Prime Minister of Ethiopia
In office 23 August 1995 – 20 August 2012
President	Negasso Gidada Girma Wolde-Giorgis
Preceded by	Tamirat Layne
Succeeded by	Haile Mariam Desalegne (Acting)
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
Personal details
Born	Legesse Zenawi Asres (1955-05-08)8 May 1955 Adwa, Ethiopia
Died	20 August 2012(2012-08-20) (aged 57) Brussels, Belgium
Political party	Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
Other political affiliations	Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
Spouse	Azeb Mesfin
Alma mater	Open University Erasmus University Rotterdam

Template:Contains Ethiopic text Meles Zenawi Asres (Ge'ez: መለስ ዜናዊ አስረስ Mäläs Zenawi Äsräs; 8 May 1955 – 20 August 2012, born Legesse Zenawi Asres) was the Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his death in 2012. From 1985, he was the chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF), and the head of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). He was President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and became the Prime Minister of Ethiopia in 1995 following the general elections that year. While his government was credited with reforms such as those that led a multi-party political system in Ethiopia, introduction of private press in Ethiopia and decreased child mortality rates. Known as one of Africa's strongmen, he was also an ally of the United States' War on Terror.

Background

Zenawi was born in Adwa, Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father from Adwa and a mother from Adi Quala, Eritrea. He graduated from the General Wingate High school in Addis Ababa, then studied medicine at Addis Ababa University (at the time known as Haile Selassie University) for two years before interrupting his studies in 1975 to join the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Aregawi Berhe, a former member of the TPLF, notes that in their histories of the TPLF both John young and Jenny Hammond "vaguely indicate" that Meles was one of the founders of the TPLF. Aregawi insists that both he and Sibhat Nega joined the Front "months" after it was founded. While a member of the TPLF, Zenawi founded the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray. His first name at birth was "Legesse" (thus Legesse Zenawi, Ge'ez: ለገሰ ዜናዊ legesse zēnāwī). However, he eventually became better known by his nom de guerre Meles, which he later adopted in honour of university student and fellow Tigray Meles Tekle who was executed by Mengistu's government in 1975.

The TPLF was one of many armed groups struggling against Lieutenant Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam and the Derg, the junta which governed Ethiopia. Zenawi was elected Leader of the Leadership Committee in 1979 and Leader of the Executive Committee in 1983. He was the chairperson of both the TPLF and the EPRDF after the EPRDF assumed power at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War in 1991. He was president of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE), during which Eritrea seceded from the country and the experiment of ethnic federalism started.

Education and personal life

Zenawi acquired an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from the Open University of the United Kingdom in 1995 and an MSc. (Masters of Science) in Economics from the Erasmus University of the Netherlands in 2004. In July 2002 Meles received an honorary doctoral degree in political science from the Hannam University in South Korea.

Zenawi was married to Azeb Mesfin a former rebel fighter in TPLF and currently a member of parliament and instrumental in the leadership of EPRDF.Zenawi was the reported father of three children. Azeb Mesfin is now the chair of the Social Affairs Standing Committee of Parliament, and in January 2007, she was given the "Legacy of a Dream" award for her leadership against HIV/AIDS during a ceremony held in memory of America's civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King. In addition, Azeb Mesfin and various government agencies have addressed child mortality issues in Ethiopia. According to UNICEF, the child mortality rate in Ethiopia has declined by 40% since the current ruling party took office.

Prime Minister of Ethiopia

At the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm in 2007 (Zenawi at elevated row fourth from left)

Zenawi stated that EPRDF's victory was a triumph for the thousands of TPLF-fighters who were killed, for the millions of Ethiopians who were victims of the country's biggest famine during the Derg regime, when some estimates put up to 1.5 million deaths of Ethiopians from famine and the Red Terror. Accordingly, he maintained that the big support it received from peasants and rural areas helped EPRDF maintain peace and stability. Foreign support was diverse; the Arab League, as well as Western nations, supported the EPRDF rebels against the communist Moscow-supported government (although the TPLF was at the time Marxist) at the height of the Cold War.

"What the implications of this will be in terms of relations between Ethiopia and the European Union, we will have to wait and see but I don't think you will be surprised if Ethiopia were to insist that it should not be patronised.”

The United States helped the EPRDF rebels to get power in Ethiopia and many angry demonstrators in Addis Ababa protested against Herman Cohen, the U.S. State Department's chief of African affairs who attended a conference that demonstrators viewed as legitimizing the EPRDF. A New York Times editorial commented in 1991,

Demonstrators cursing the Americans ignore two realities. The cold war is over in Africa, and Ethiopia is no longer a focus of superpower rivalry. Otherwise it would have been unthinkable for four contending Marxist groups to turn to Washington for help. The other reality is that Mr. Cohen cannot undo at the conference table what has happened on the battlefield

Even though EPRDF's success was welcomed as a relief from DERG strong anti-EPRDF sentiments were present in many areas and strongly visible in Addis Ababa. These were just the beginning of the opposition to Zenawi's EPRDF party after it gained power and more strong opposition followed. Addis Ababa has since been the center of peaceful opposition to the EPRDF, while the eastern Somali Region has been the most active region for armed opposition.

Following the defeat and exile of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, the July Convention of Nationalities was held. It was the first Ethiopian multinational convention where delegates of various nations and organizations were given fair and equal representation and observed by various international organizations including the United Nations, Organization for African Unity, European Economic Community, and the United States and the United Kingdom.

Of the 24 groups, the ones with the largest delegations at the Convention were the EPRDF (32), the Oromo Liberation Front (12), Afar Liberation Front (3), the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromia (3), and the Western Somali Liberation Front (3). Near the end of the year, Zenawi became the President of the TGE, and following the first elections in 1995 Zenawi was elected as Prime Minister and Negasso Gidada became President. International election observers concluded that had opposition parties contested, they could have garnered seats.

In the 2000 general elections, Zenawi was reelected Prime Minister, and his ruling EPRDF party shared parliament seats with the opposition party United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF). According to observers organized by Ethiopian Human Rights Council, local U.N. staff, diplomatic missions, political parties, and domestic non-governmental organizations, both the general and the regional elections that year were generally free and fair in most areas; however, serious election irregularities occurred in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), particularly in the Hadiya Zone.

Zenawi encountered his first real challenge in the 2005 elections. His party was declared winner and kept his Prime Minister seat for another term, although the major opposition groups (the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), UEDF, and the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement) gained a number of seats in the national parliament. More than 30 other political parties participated in the election. These elections were the most contested and the most controversial in Ethiopia's short democratic history, with some opposition parties arguing that the election was stolen by the ruling party. Allegations of fraud were especially strong in the rural areas, as the opposition parties won in most urban areas, whereas the EPRDF won mostly in rural districts.

The aftermath of the election led to riots and demonstrations against the results, particularly in the capital, which had to be stopped by peace officers. Some opposition parties blamed the government for the violence, even though they were tried and convicted in the court of the countries law. At the end of the demonstration, along with seven police officers 193 citizens were killed and 763 civilians wounded. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians were also jailed. Many protesters and around 75 police officers were injured. This led to many rounds of accusations between the government and the protesters where the Information Minister Berhan Hailu said the government was "sorry and sad", but blamed the violence on the CUD. The opposition parties have continuously accused the government of a massacre. EU election observers concluded the election failed to meet international standards for free and fair elections while the Carter Center concluded the election was fair but with many irregularities and a lot of intimidation by both sides especially on the part of the government. The Carter Center didn't publish its final report at the time. Meanwhile CUD opposition members continued to accuse the ruling party of fraud. However some accusations of fraud coming from opposition parties were very strange. For instance, a day before the final count of votes in Addis Ababa, the CUD opposition party accused the ruling party of fraud and decided not to accept the result in Addis Ababa. But it ended up that the CUD party was actually refusing its own victory, since the vote count showed that the CUD won 100% of the votes in Addis Ababa. According to critics, this strange event led to speculations that the main opposition party, CUD, had already planned not to accept the result no matter what, in order to paint a bad image of Zenawi's ruling party and the elections and gain the support of the international community following the predestined failure of the election.

In an interview, the United States AID director repeated that the Carter Center understood that the ruling party (EPRDF) won the election and most of his peers confirmed that as well. The USAID director also criticized some EU observers, accusing them of bias and favoring the opposition. He said some European observers practiced outside of their jobs and went "overboard in encouraging the opposition and making them think that somehow they had won the election." He concluded that the American government never believed the opposition won the election.

An inquiry into the violence found the property damage caused by the rioters and protesters in Addis Ababa and other cities totaled to 4.45 million Ethiopian Birr, including 190 damaged buses and 44 cars as police officers tried to restrain the rioters. The SBS journalist, Olivia Rousset, indicated that the government used too much force to subdue the rioters. She also said that "stone-throwing rioters" tried to take the guns from the security forces. Some EU observers have also shown their discontent at the post-election violence, suggesting that the police response was disproportionate, and blamed the government. In a rare response, Zenawi said that he was disappointed that "some people have misunderstood the nature of the problem and misinterpreted it." In its final report, the independent commission concluded that the aggressive steps taken by the police force were to "avoid large scale violence and to protect the constitution" and that the reason behind the riotings might have been the protestors' unfamiliarity with the "process of democratization" e.g., respecting election results. However, the commission also acknowledged that there were serious errors that needed to be addressed regarding the capabilities of the Ethiopian Security forces to control riots. However, three members of the Inquiry Commission have defected and given their testimonies to members of the U.S. Congress and the International Media. The former Supreme Court Judge of the Southern Ethiopian nations and nationalities, Judge Frehiwot Samuel, who was also Chairman of the Inquiry Commission, and his Deputy, Judge Wolde-Michael Meshesha, have fled Ethiopia with a video and final report of the Commission’s findings that shows the commission deciding, through an eight to two vote, that the government had used excessive force and that there were grave human rights violations. Some leaders, including the UK's Tony Blair, condemned the violence but repeated that Zenawis's ruling party "won the election." Other European organizations also praised the election saying it was a "free and fair multi-party election." So far, most of the US representatives have not changed their outlook and the US government supports the Ethiopian government in both military and aid assistance. Other analysts also described progress in Ethiopia's first multi-party parliament in history.

Meanwhile many international media outlets continued to display the post-election bloodshed, followed by criticism of Zenawi's ruling party. At the same time, some people implied that opposition members were planning to use violence or provoke it as a means to gain power. In fact, various events were said to show that many opposition supporters, even in universities, try to provoke the police hoping that the security forces will overreact and create chaos. About the violence U.S. state department reports said some opposition supporters were engaged in a peaceful movement to "create greater democratic space" but some opposition supporters were "demonstrating to overthrow the government" and were engaged in "violent protests." Other reaction to the election issue was condemnation of the EU election observers. An Irish committee said "the situation in Ethiopia had not been helped by inaccurate leaks from the EU election monitoring body which led the opposition to wrongly believe they had been cheated of victory."

In early 2004, Zenawi received medical treatment in the UK for an unspecified condition. Flanked by numerous UK police officers and diplomatic protection officers he was observed at the Parkside Hospital in southwest London, a private hospital staffed by numerous specialist consultants.

Domestic policy

Structural reforms

Economic structure

The Ethiopian economy is based on agriculture, which currently accounts for about 45% of the GDP and 85% of the employment. Agricultural commodities also dominate the export sector, mainly coffee, qat, and hides and skins.

After the Meles Zenawi government gained power, major new players in the Ethiopian economy have been "endowment companies," as the ruling party calls them, commonly known as party companies. EFFORT, the biggest of all, is a conglomerate which is owned by what was Meles Zenawi's party, the TPLF, while he was alive. Some criticized this as having been the previous "government parastatals" during DERG regime being replaced by "party parastatals". In recent developments, Bloomberg reported that Guna Trading, owned by EFFORT, plans to become one of the biggest coffee exporters.

Land and agriculture

Ethiopian agriculture is predominantly rain-fed subsistence agriculture, troubled by recurrent droughts. After Meles came to power in 1991, there were three major droughts in 1999/2000, 2002/2003 and 2009/2010.

The most significant reform regarding land use after Zenawi took power was the dissolution of the collective farms and redistribution of land at local levels. The demand for land ownership, expressed in the slogan "Land to the tiller," was central in toppling the feudal monarchy. The demand, however, was not fully answered. The new constitution, in Article 40, section 3, states that, "The right to own rural and urban land as well as natural resources belongs only to the state and the people". The farmers have land use rights, but uncertain transfer rights. Starting in 2008, this land policy was set back after the government announced that it would begin leasing large areas of "empty" farm lands to foreign investors. Derided internationally as "land grabs," these operations threaten some smallholders with the loss of their plots. Reporting on this issue, the New York Times, quoting an expert, wrote, "One thing that is very clear, that seems to have escaped the attention of most investors, is that this is not simply empty land"

The government defends its land policy, given the common occurrences of natural disasters such as drought or bad weather. The government says that had farmers been allowed to own land, they might have been forced to sell it during drought. To prevent this, the EPRDF government believes land ownership should not be privatized. Accordingly, the government states that it should focus on its agriculture sector while it is developing its industrial sector simultaneously, so that it can balance everything once the other sectors are developed and increase productivity. Government transformation of the construction sector, for example, led to a rare construction boom from the early 2000s until cement and other shortages caused it to slow down. The government believes privatization should be employed in the future but not presently. Knowing that constitutional change is required to privatize lands, the government assumed that it would hold a long-term super majority in parliament, to enable it to make the transition.

Since this approach to land ownership is unconventional, especially to Western nations, opposition political parties have used this to their advantage during elections, arguing that land ownership has to be privatized. Yet the government seems unfaltering and states that flexibility is needed to address the lack of industrial development in the country despite accusations from the opposition.

Multi-party system

Zenawi became the first Ethiopian leader to develop a multi-party system, including an opposition party, in the Ethiopian parliament. Though the country had its first national elections in 1995, a multi-party representative government was established in 2005, after the election of some candidates of the UEDF opposition party. Critics of the CUD included top UEDF leaders, Dr. Merera Gudina and Dr. Beyene Petros, and also Bulcha Demeksa, Lidetu Ayalew, Hailu Shawel, Birtukan Mideksa, Temesgen Zewdie and Hailu Araya. Many opposition politicians openly display deep anger for the ruling party's semblance of democracy, with some having labeled Meles a "dictator" and others having called for his resignation. After the disputed 2005 national elections, opposition party members, led by the CUD, UEDP-Medhin, UEDF and Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), filled almost one third of the Ethiopian parliament seats. Despite the fact that the Ethiopian constitution dictates a multi-party system, Zenawi's full control of the military forces seemingly promoted the reality of a single-party state.

Ethnic federalism

The Zenawi government created an ethnic-based federalism, which came under attack by some Ethiopians. Zenawi's TPLF party believed that there was no choice—this was the only solution to the centuries-old oppression by centralist governments, and to domination of culture, language, politics and economy by one ethnic group, namely the Amhara. On the other hand, some parties like the OLF (Oromo Liberation Front), which was a partner in drafting the constitution, see Amhara and Tigrayan domination of the country. The aim of the government policy was to empower all ethnicities and develop their cultures and languages. Also it was widely seen as a solution to the demand of governance preferred by the ethnic-based liberation fronts and parties participating in the July Convention of Nationalities in 1991. In response to critics who say ethnic federalism can bring divisions, Zenawi said that this policy served many interests, including equitable distribution of wealth and empowerment of ethnicities. He said the "ethnic basis of Ethiopia's democracy stemmed from the government's fight against poverty and the need for an equitable distribution of the nation's wealth: peasants must be enabled to make their own decisions in terms of their own culture. Power must be devolved to them in ways that they understand, and they understand ethnicity.... Other approaches to development had been hegemonic and exploitative and had led to internecine strife and civil war."

Zenawi claimed that there are two basic views about ethnic federalism: "if you think it is a threat, it will be; if you think it a benefit, then it will be." Making this statement, he concluded that "ethnicity will become less an issue as the economy grows and Ethiopia's process of assimilation does its job."

Opposition to ethnic federalism

Zenawi's policy of ethnic federalism has been attacked by two groups of opposition parties. Pan-Ethiopian opposition parties like AEUP, UEDP-medhin and Andenet accused Zenawi of harming the stability and unity of Ethiopia by dividing the country on language lines. They expressed their fear for the future unity of the country, pointing out a rise in ethnic conflicts after the ethnic federalism policy introduced, whereas in the past Ethiopia's economic marginalization of groups or ethnicities was a cause of warfare in the country, as experts indicated.

On the other hand, ethnic-based opposition parties like the OFDM, Oromo National Congress (renamed OPC) as well as armed groups like the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) accused Zenawi's government of granting powers to the regions by the nation's constitution which were only good on paper. Dr Merara Gudina (from ONC) said, "The only thing EPRDF’s federalism has achieved is that it helped the party hold a tight grip on the people through a divide-and-rule system"

Most of the opposition on both sides want to change the existing ethnic-federal system if they gain power. Those who reject ethnic federalism propose that administrative regions should be carved out on consideration of more factors than language alone. On the other hand, armed groups who favor ethnic federalism want to apply Article 39 and declare full independence for their own ethnic regions like Eritrea did in 1993.

It is important to underline opposition from both sides which are legally registered, and participated in the disputed 2005 election, won considerable seats.

Equity and growth

Throughout its operation, the government and the Prime Minister have advocated "pro-poor" domestic policies. According to World Bank's East African leadership, the Ethiopian government ranks number one in Africa on spending as a share of GDP going to pro-poor sectors.

The administration has also created self-governing regional development organizations like Amhara Development Association, Tigray Development Association, Oromia Development Association and many others.

Even though Zenawi's administration inherited one of the worst economies in the world, the country's economy grew steadily after he took office. During the last seven years, Ethiopia's GDP has shown a rate of growth of about 9 percent a year. The country was also in the top category for “policies of social inclusion and equity,” in the domain of “economic management,” and Ethiopia did exceptionally well in the domain of “structural policies” and “public sector management and institutions." Gross primary enrollment rates, a standard indicator of investment in the poor, went up to 93 percent in 2004 from 72 percent in 1990, contributing to a rise in literacy rates from 50 percent in 1997 to 65 percent in 2002. Still some opposition parties in the Ethiopian parliament doubted the economic growth. During the House's 31st regular session where the parliament reserved its monthly "Opposition Day," some opposition MPs condemned the ruling party, pointing to double-digit inflation as a sign of the government's economic failures. The African Development Bank and the Paris-based OECD Development Center stated that Ethiopia has become one of the fastest growing countries in Africa.

Water

One of the most important resources of the country, water (the Nile), has also been a focus of Meles's administration. Due to the potential conflict that can occur between Egypt and Ethiopia, Meles's EPRDF-led government has chosen to initiate and support programs that would benefit all sides in the use of the Nile. So far many small scale dams have been constructed in Ethiopia but large dams have been rare because of limited financial capabilities. Two of the big projects include the Tekeze hydro-electric power project in Tigray and the largest hydroelectric plant in Ethiopia located in Achefer Woreda of the Amhara State. Yet the building of the Tekeze power project has dominated the media since it was built in the Tigray region, the home state of Meles. The country is planning to export electricity to Sudan and Djibouti by 2010, and has currently began the newest project in western Ethiopia to construct Africa's biggest hydroelectric dam which is located on the Ethiopia-Sudan border.

Freedom of religion

Although Muslims and Orthodox Christians lived together in Ethiopia for many centuries, complete religious freedom was formalized only in 1991. Many of the pre-existing issues — dominance of the state religion to 1974, seizure of the church properties by the Mengistu regime, 1974–91, state-sponsored persecution of non-Orthodox Christians, second-class citizenship accorded to Ethiopian Muslims, landownership problems and similar issues for non-Orthodox believers — have subsided for the most part. There are currently between 12 and 15 million Protestant Christians, as well as other new non-Orthodox Christians. Clashes have been very rare with the domination of the Orthodox. Most analysts say that since such equality and full religious freedom didn't exist before, the infrequent clashes might occur until the culture of tolerance grows between all old and new religions and denominations.

Private property of means of communication

Meles Zenawi's administration was the first to introduce private press in Ethiopia. However, he has been under fire often for imprisonment of journalists and lately for some website censorship. The Meles government defends its action on the ground that the banned media outlets advocated "a certain population should be quarantined" and incited "violence among different ethnic groups in the country," including using hate-filled text messages on mobile phones asking people to attack ethnic groups. Some sources blame certain websites and papers who have been caught inciting violence and asking for bombings on companies. A couple of them have even been sued for provoking uprising. Others claim that the supporters of the previous dictatorship government are trying to use the new opportunity to freely express themselves by defaming the current government officials. But the government critics say that the ruling party is not willing to be criticised. Many reports of international organizations support their claim. Strong criticism came from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In its 2007 press freedom summary it wrote, "Ethiopia [is] the world's worst backslider on press freedom over the previous five years". At the start of 2010, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that an Ethiopian journalist has been jailed for a year for criticising the Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Because of pressure from the government, the number of private media outlets is significantly lower than before 2005. In addition, its composition is also changing. While previously most of the media were politically oriented, following the government crackdowns on media after 2005 election the number of political media is going down while entertainment and business media are on the rise. On the other hand, for what is believed to be the first time in Ethiopia's history, the government granted private commercial FM radio licenses, to two domestic pro-government operators. As of 2009, there are over 56 radio stations in the country that are owned and operated by regional governments, community organisations, and private companies. The government has issued licenses for seven regional states' television transmissions agencies, but there are still no private broadcasters in the country.

Language policy

Meles Zenawi's government introduced a diverse but controversial policy of decentralization of the language system in Ethiopia. Most Ethiopians are taught using their mother tongue in primary schools and they are encouraged to develop their own language. Some critics have said that this policy harms the unity and national identity of the country, while others have supported and praised the policy. Currently, many regional states have their own official state language. For instance, Afaan Oromo is the official language of the Oromia regional state but Amharic is still the official language in the State of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples.

Other

To bring order and transparency to the agricultural sector, the country started its first market exchange program and company, called the The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX). In April 2008, the country finalized the ECX, to, according to Meles Zenawi, "revolutionalize the country's backward and inefficient marketing system."

Other than the dominant coffee industry, the government has made the floriculture industry another sector where Ethiopia can have comparative advantage. Various Kenyan investors have already moved to Ethiopia and the industry seems to be growing rapidly. Flower growers from other countries were also said to be relocating to Ethiopia. Ethiopia recently became Africa’s second largest flower exporter after Kenya, with its export earnings growing by 500 per cent over the past year. According to the Oromia Investment Commission, foreign investors are taking advantage of the new favorable investment opportunity in the sugar sector, where recently $7.5 billion has been invested. Ethiopia also depends on livestock exports as well. Issues relating to wildlife conservation have been tackled aggressively under Meles Zenawi. The World Wildlife Fund praised the Ethiopian government's progress, saying, "Ethiopia has set a fine example for other countries to emulate."

Another issue promoted by Meles Zenawi has been economic development in "green fashion." Discussing during an annual meeting under the Clinton Global Initiative in September 2007, Meles debated with Tony Blair and other world leaders about global warming and trade. According to Reuters,Meles stated the need for a cap and trade mechanism and for different strategies towards Africa, since it did not contribute as much towards global warming.

A recent issue has been the shortage of cement to sustain the construction boom in the country. However, foreign and native investment, including the recent investment in a US$5 billion cement factory in Misraq Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region, are an attempt to stabilize the situation. Still the brief severe shortage that occurred in 2005 was blamed on Meles Zenawi's policies that were alleged to ignore urban development. Other recent development in the country included a first car factory in Ethiopia that assembles cars to sell for local- and export-markets, as well as cars that use liquefied petroleum gas, bus manufacturing in Mek'ele and taxi manufacturing in Modjo city, Oromia state. The dramatic development of most sectors in Ethiopia–including textiles, leather, garments, agriculture, beverages, construction, and others–has caused Ethiopia to be labeled the "East African land of opportunity" by the World Investment News.

Some economists state that Ethiopia's economic growth has come at the expense of inflation. The World Bank, in Ethiopia's country profile in 2010, mentioned the underlying inflation threat that started in 2008 might continue. Despite the inflation and differences in the rate of economic growth in reports among several international organizations, they continued to praise the economic growth. The African Development Bank claimed that Ethiopia "is registering a remarkable economic growth in recent years." On top of that various social concerns exist and the Ethiopian section of VOA news on its Amharic language program has reported about problems facing farmers and growers who often get less profit due to the market exploitation of middlemen.

Education policies

School expansion

Since the 1990s Ethiopia has experienced more increase of schools and colleges despite still not covering all regions. Millions of Ethiopian birr (ETB) continue to be spent on building educational institutions and many new schools have been constructed since Meles Zenawi took office. However, the government's focus on the agricultural sector has slowed the growth of jobs in the urban areas of Ethiopia, which is reflected in the anger of the urban population and its students as well as the landslide victory of opposition parties in these areas during the recent national election. Statistics showed that in 1991 only 27 percent of Ethiopian children attended school, but in 2004 gross enrollment rate was up to 77 percent and it reached 85 percent in November 2006.

As of 2005, there were 13,500 elementary schools and 550 secondary schools. A majority of them are newly constructed and the secondary schools are connected by satellite in a new programme called School-Net.

More colleges and Universities have been constructed and/or expanded during the last few years than in whole history of Ethiopia. These colleges and Universities include Adama University (Oromia), an expansion of Nazreth technical college, Jimma University (started earlier), Mekelle University newly built under Meles, Debub University, an expansion of Awassa college, Bahir Dar (Amhara state) University, an expansion of a polytechnic college and teacher's college, and others. Also most of the older colleges have added various new departments, including faculties of law, business, etc. Other new growing colleges include Jijiga (Somali state) University, institutions in Debre Markos, Semera (Afar), Aksum, Tepi, Nekemte (Oromia), Kombolcha (Amhara State), Dire Dawa and in Debre Birhan. Wollega University in the Oromia state is the most recently finished university in Ethiopia with various modern facilities, with 20 new fields of study and the new Wolaita Soddo University started taking in students in February 2007. Including the new Axum University, 12 new universities are starting operation in 2007 Other fairly new universities like Dilla University in the Gedeo Zone SNNP region launched new facilities, expanded laboratories for research, and initiated new post-graduate studies.

In the last decade, more than 30 new private colleges & universities have been created, including Unity College. The University Capacity Building Program (UCBP) is a leading project in this sector.

Women's rights

The TPLF has associated itself with gender equality since the days of armed conflict, when, in the northern states, Tigrean and some Amhara women soldiers fought together with men against the Derg dictatorship. Meles Zenawi's administration, along with First Lady Azeb Mesfin, have strongly advocated for more equal rights and opportunities for women in Ethiopia. Despite the country having a rich history of respected queens and empresses, Meles inherited a national situation in which Ethiopian women did not have equality or basic rights. Since his administration began, there has been a steady growth of women's organizations, women activists and employment opportunities and a forum where women discuss backward cultural issues on national television. In their long fight against destructive traditional practices, HIV transmission, early marriage, lack of legal rights for women, unfair public policies, job opportunity and other issues, various organizations continue to work with the government including the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyers Association (EWLA), Network of Ethiopian Women's Associations, the Ethiopia Media Women’s Association (MWA), the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), Women in Self Employment (WISE), the Ethiopian Medical Women's Association (EMWA), the Women’s Association of Tigray (WAT), the Kembatti Mentti Gezzima-tope (KMG), the Ethiopian Nurse Midwives Association (ENA) and others. The Ethiopian leadership has made significant advances to protect women's rights in recent years. It has its first Minister of Women's Affairs and has overhauled legislation on rape, female genital mutilation, and other offences.

Foreign policies

Zenawi with President of Russia Vladimir Putin on 3 December 2001

Zenawi moved to have Ethiopia gain a larger share of the Nile River water. Part of this entailed using Ethiopia's hydropower prospects as leverage in exporting power to Egypt, amongst others. He had also aided the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement prior to South Sudan's independence as the rebels fought the government in Khartoum. Since the War on Terrorism, Zenawi sought to consolidate Ethiopia's hegemony in East Africa, including his mediation efforts with Sudan and South Sudan, as well as stabilizing Somalia towards the end of the mandate of the Transitional Federal Government. Though he had controversially sent troops to fight against the Islamic Courts Union, since 2009 he had been praised for working towards a stable situation along with the African Union.

Eritrea

Although Zenawi and his administration claimed they preferred a united but federal state that included the Eritrean state, since Zenawi's TPLF fought together with EPLF, Zenawi originally left the decision of independence to the Eritrean citizens in the hope that the independence referendum would vote against secession, according to Time magazine's 1991 analysis. However, after the EPLF secured their borders when Mengistu's regime fell, and after the majority of Eritreans voted for independence on 24 May 1993, Isaias Afewerki became the leader of Eritrea. Many people in the Zenawi administration, as well as opposition parties were angry over the decision to grant Eritrea its independence.

Despite being related by blood and working together against the Derg regime, Meles and Afewerki's positive relationship turned sour after Meles succumbed to U.S. pressure to hold an election within a year, but Afewerki abandoned his original promise to create a transitional government in the early 1990s. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War began in May 1998. After the Ethiopian breach of the western front and subsequent capture of parts of western Eritrea, Ethiopian President Negaso Gidada gave a victory speech and a peace treaty was signed a few weeks later. According to the peace treaty Ethiopia then pulled out. Though Ethiopian troops controlled Badme, after an international court ruled that Badme belonged to Eritrea, Ethiopia continued to maintain a presence of Ethiopian soldiers in the town.

Criticism

However, Zenawi signed a controversial United Nations peace treaty that was seen as favoring Eritrea. This decision angered many Ethiopians and caused an internal division inside the Zenawi's party. The faction critical of Zenawi, led by Defense Minister Siye Abraha, disagreed with those aligned with Meles over "key issues of ideology" and accused Zenawi's supporters of corruption and of Zenwai for failing to act quickly or decisively enough over the crisis with Eritrea. This led to a showdown at a meeting of the Politburo of the EPRDF, wherein Zenawi won a 15–13 vote on his proposed statement that "the greatest threat that Ethiopia was facing was corruption and undemocratic tendencies." Zenawi said afterwards that the dissenting members had at that point insisted that the meeting be aborted and called for a general meeting of the TPLF, a move Meles described as "a violation of democratic principles and the statute of the front." A number of the dissenting members of the TPLF, including Siye, were quickly arrested and imprisoned. Siye was later released after six years in prison, and joined opposition parties. This rift is thought to have led to the murder of Kinfe Gebremedhin, a former TPLF commander, Chief of Security and Immigration and a right-hand man of Zenawi.

Zenawi was also criticised for his pre-war decisions that ignored Eritrean incursions and a claimed delayed Ethiopian response to the invasion.

As a result of Zenawi's Eritrean relations, he was accused of being too soft on the Eritrean government by members of his own TPLF party. Some believe Zenawi wanted Aferwerki to remain in power, despite their deep disagreements. According to a BBC Monitoring report, Zenawi reportedly blocked four million dollars of support from being transferred from Yemen and Sudan to the Eritrean National Alliance opposition group which was trying to overthrow the Eritrean regime.

Somalia

In 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) assumed control of much of the southern part of Somalia and promptly imposed Shari'a law. The Transitional Federal Government sought to re-establish its authority, and, with the assistance of Ethiopian troops, African Union peacekeepers and air support by the United States, managed to drive out the rival ICU. On 8 January 2007, as the Battle of Ras Kamboni raged, TFG President and founder Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, a former colonel in the Somali Army, entered Mogadishu for the first time since being elected to office. The Somali government then relocated to Villa Somalia in the capital from its interim location in Baidoa. This marked the first time since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 that the federal government controlled most of the country.

Following this defeat, the Islamic Courts Union splintered into several different factions. Some of the more radical elements, including Al-Shabaab, regrouped to continue their insurgency against the TFG and oppose the Ethiopian military's presence in Somalia. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Al-Shabaab scored military victories, seizing control of key towns and ports in both central and southern Somalia. At the end of 2008, the group had captured Baidoa but not Mogadishu. By January 2009, Al-Shabaab and other militias had managed to force the Ethiopian troops to retreat, leaving behind an under-equipped African Union peacekeeping force to assist the TFG's troops.

Some political parties in Ethiopia opposed Zenawi's policies and demanded the complete withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia. Merera Gudina, leader of the opposition party United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) said "the military victory against the Islamic Courts forces was not followed by political victory or national reconciliation." He also said staying in Somalia harms the Ethiopian economy and some of the leaders in the transitional Somali government were not reaching out to civil society members in Somalia. With the exception of the SPDP, UEDP-Medhin (EDUP) and ONC opposition parties, not many opposition parties in Ethiopia supported the choice of intervention in Somalia by Zenawi's ruling party. Some members of the Somali parliament also expressed their appreciation of Ethiopia's help publicly, but opposition remained against the intervention, which was portrayed as an invasion instead.

Between 31 May and 9 June 2008, representatives of Somalia's TFG and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) group of Islamist rebels participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the former United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. The conference ended with a signed agreement calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation of armed confrontation. Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats to accommodate ARS members, which then elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the former ARS chairman, to office.

In October 2011, a coordinated multinational operation began against Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, with the Ethiopian military eventually joining the mission the following month. According to Ramtane Lamamra, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, the additional Ethiopian and AU troop reinforcements are expected to help the Somali authorities gradually expand their territorial control.

Climate change

Zenawi played an important role in developing the African Union's position on climate change since 2009 and was a 'friend of the Chair' at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

On 31 August 2009, Zenawi was appointed Chair of the African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC). The group had been established following the 4 February 2009 decision at the 12th AU Assembly of Heads of States to build a common Africa position on climate change in preparations for COP15.

Prior to Zenawi's appointment, but in light of the AU's decision and the Algiers Declaration on the African Common Platform to Copenhagen, on 19 May 2009 the Africa Group made a submission to the UNFCCC that included demands for US$67 billion per year in finance for adaptation funding and US$200 billion per year for mitigation and set targets in terms of reductions of emissions by developed countries not by reference to temperature.

On 3 September 2009 Zenawi made a speech to the Africa Partnership Forum where he said:”

We will never accept any global deal that does not limit global warming to the minimum unavoidable level, no matter what levels of compensation and assistance are promised to us… While we will reason with everyone to achieve our objective, we will not rubber stamp an agreement by the powers that be as the best we could get for the moment. We will use our numbers to delegitimize any agreement that is not consistent with our minimal position. If needs be we are prepared to walk out of any negotiations that threaten to be another rape of our continent.

On 12 December 2009 at COP15, the Africa Group made a further submission to the UNFCCC that called for 45% emission reductions by developed countries by 2020, finance for adaptation of $150 billion immediately as special drawing rights from the IMF, $400 billion in fast-track financing, and 5% of developed countries' GNP in longer-term financing. On 15 December 2009 Meles Zenawi issued a joint press release with the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, which declared that the African Union position at Copenhagen was a 2 °C temperature target, 10 billion euros in 'fast-track financing,' and 100 billion euros in 'long-term financing.' This new position from Zenawi was observed to be the same as the European Union's position and received widespread condemnation by other African leaders, including Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula, Lesotho’s Bruno Sekoli, Ugandan chief negotiator and Minister of Water and Environment Maria Mutagamba and Sudan’s Ambassador and Chair of G77, Lumumba Di-Aping. African civil society groups condemned the position as a betrayal of Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the two degree target "condemns Africa to incineration and no modern development".

The Copenhagen Accord went on to reflect the EU's position as adopted by Zenawi.

Criticism and scandals

Allegations of repression in Oromia

According to Freedom House, under the government of Zenawi discrimination against and repression of Oromo people was widespread. Human Rights Watch (HRW) notes that local government in the Oromia Region has "routinely commit[ted] various human rights violations against people they believe to be critical or unsupportive of the government." After relations between the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the ruling government broke down in 1992, the government banned the OLF, and has since regularly accused political detainees of being OLF operatives. HRW further notes that "according to former Ethiopian President Negasso Gidada, when he left office in 2001 roughly 25,000 people were in prison on OLF-related charges throughout Oromia and in Addis Ababa and no public moves have since been made to substantially reduce the number of detainees."

Anuak conflict

On 13 December 2003 an ethnic conflict in the Gambela Region led to the death of 61 Anuaks in one day and hundreds more over the coming months. It is alleged that highlanders were being helped by the Ethiopian Defense forces. According to Amnesty International, federal soldiers participated in the killings and regional authorities did not take necessary preventative measures against the violence.

The highlanders are mostly from the northern regions of Amhara and Tigray (but also Oromia). They populated the Gambela region after they were forced to move southwest from the north in the mid-1980s. When Mengistu Haile Mariam ruled in the 1980s, more than 1.5 million Ethiopians were forced to relocate, which led to more than 200,000 Ethiopian dead and many more sick in what is described as one of the worst humanitarian crises of that decade. Since then some northern highlanders have been living in Gambela, adding fuel to an already existing conflict between the Nuar and the Anuaks.

In December 2003, some of the highlanders who worked for the Ethiopian refugee agency were looking for new camps to shelter the thousands of Sudanese fleeing from their country's internal battles. Early that month, a group of armed Anuak killed many highlanders. Anuak rebels had also killed eight people in an attack on a United Nations vehicle. Ethiopian Defense Forces set up their headquarters at the refugee camp and took the bodies of the dead highlanders to Gambella town for burial, triggering an attack against Anuak civilians on 13 December 2003, which continued for several days. The massacres were labeled a "genocide" by Genocide Watch, which has since charged that genocidal massacres have also been committed against ethnic Ogadenis, and other groups, and has called for investigation of the human rights record of the Meles regime in an open letter to the UN Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Anuak people maintain they have been gradually displaced from their traditional lands. Despite 5,000 Ethiopian troops being deployed to keep peace in the area, tensions are still high. Anuak tribesmen interviewed by BBC correspondents said they appreciated the government's effort to keep peace against Anuak rebels, yet ordinary Anuaks still fear for their lives. In October 2005, Anuak rebels attacked a Catholic church and a police station.

The Ethiopian government, including Meles Zenawi, stated that both the Anuak insurgents and the highlander militias were responsible for the conflict and "without the intervention of the army, the killings would have continued indefinitely." Regional security forces made an effort to restrain the tension between the ethnic groups, which are historically enemies. After an independent investigation, four town soldiers were put in prison for favoring one ethnicity over another during the ethnic conflicts. Many regional government officials claim the number of dead was not 400, but that around 200 armed Anuaks and highlanders were killed after the ethnic violence.

The government and other critical analysts often disregard pro-Anuak sources of information and testimonies, seeing them as biased against other local ethnicities. However some Anuak sources gave diverse accounts. For instance, Anuak refugees and witnesses who claimed they saw the conflict and massacre said that the bloodshed was started by anti-government civilians as well as anti-government soldiers and anti-government officials in order to create problems for the government. One witness said,

I think that among the mob and the soldiers there was a group of people who were against the government and wanted to use this opportunity to put the government in a problem. I think that there were anti-government and anti-Anywaa elements within the army who orchestrated this type of killing.

Despite progress to curb the historical ethnic divisions and political tensions, there still remains a relatively tense political situation in the Gambella region. Recently the Gambella Peace Olympics, a sport festival promoting peace and development amongst the Gambella region's ethnic groups, including Anuaks and Nuars, was held in a bid to bring about constructive dialogue and long-term peace among the region's often feuding ethnic groups.

Post-election violence

In response to the aftermath of the 2005 election, Zenawi told the Washington Post: "I would love to be the African leader that steps down, that overthrows this idea of a Big Man ruler. I don’t want to stay in office forever."

On 18 October 2006 an independent report said Ethiopian police massacred 193 protesters, mostly in the capital Addis Ababa, in the violence of June and November following the May 2005 elections. The information was leaked before the official independent report was handed to the parliament. The leak made by Ethiopian judge Wolde-Michael Meshesha found that the government had concealed the true extent of deaths at the hands of the police.

This leak also brought more accusations that the opposition party which provoked the riots was trying to damage the reputation of the government by leaking the inquiry unlawfully. Gemechu Megerssa, a member of the independent Inquiry commission, which Mr. Meshesha once worked with, said Mr. Meshesha taking the report "out of context and presenting it to the public to sensationalise the situation for his political end is highly unethical."

The judge in Europe described the deaths as a massacre and said the toll could well have been higher. The judge was filing for asylum and is currently living in Europe, bringing speculation that he was biased to begin with in support of the opposition party, but he claimed that he had to leave the country because he thought he would be "harassed" by the government. He speculated that Zenawi ordered troops to shoot at protesters. But according to the New York Times, Meles said "he did not authorize the police to use live bullets."

The official report described by the parliament and the government gave exactly the same details as the leaked inquiry. It said that 193 people had been killed, including 40 teenagers. Six policemen were also killed and some 763 people injured. Police records showed 20,000 people were initially arrested during the anti-government protests. The government said various witnesses from the Kinijit (CUD) opposition party have testified that CUD leaders assured them of a demise of Zenawi's party and government in order to start an armed rebellion. The witnesses stated that CUD leaders encouraged them to start military training and planning to overthrow the government. The commission members living in Addis Ababa criticised the government saying;

We are not saying the government was totally clean. The government has a lot to be accountable for. The mentality of the police needs to be changed, and then we will be able to minimize those kinds of casualties in the future. Building of [democratic] institutions is required, but that is going to take time. The government was not prepared to tackle violence like that which took place last year. They could have brought an alternative way of dispersing rioting crowds.

The independent Inquiry commission members added Meshesha going to Europe and reporting information out of context was "dishonest" and ugly politics, as well as insensitive to the process of developing Ethiopia's young democracy. The commission said Ethiopians need to solve their problems themselves so that this kind of violence will not occur again, that respecting authority and each other and working together is important, and that changing the mentality of the police is what the "government has to think about seriously."

Despite all these post-election issues and complications, in addition to the Carter Center and the US government British MPs continued to praise the democratic process in Ethiopia. After meeting with some opposition parties, British MPs stated that the Ethiopian government should always stand firmly against those who try to use "undemocratic and unconstitutional means" to change government.

Presently, all except 20 of the elected opposition members have joined the Ethiopian parliament along with the EPRDF party members. Top opposition parties, UEDF and UEPD-Medhin, are peacefully working with the government for negotiations on the democratic process. Many opposition parties are represented in the Ethiopia Parliament, where representatives from Oromia state hold the most seats and representatives from the Amhara State hold the second-most seats, in correlation with the population order of the corresponding states. Various opposition parties including UEDF, UEPD-Medhin, Somali People's Democratic Party (SPDP), EDL, Gambella People's Democratic Movement (GPDM), All Ethiopian Unity Organization (AEUO), Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and Benishangul-Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front (BGPDUF) hold seats in the parliament. Despite pressure to release the CUD leaders who were rounded up after the post election violence, an Ethiopian court convicted 38 of the top CUD leaders. After various negotiations to solve the deadlock via a political agreement, the convicted CUD leaders signed a document, which many believe was coerced out of them, accepting their "mistakes" and an accountability ranging from partial to full responsibility for the post-election violence.

Prisoners

Currently, all of the leaders of the main opposition party (CUD) are out of jail after an alleged attempt to initiate the post-election violence and overthrow the government. All of these charges are denied by the CUD leadership both in and outside Ethiopia, and the European Union continues to plea for the political prisoners to be released after a speedy trial. Some of these elected CUD officials endure very harsh conditions inside Ethiopia's poorly maintained prisons and they are at risk of various medical complications. As a result of the violence after the elections, many thousands were arrested and imprisoned. Even though most have been freed a few still remain in prison. Up to the end of 2005, around 8,000 Ethiopian rioters had been freed.

After long and slow judicial proceedings an Ethiopian judge dropped the controversial charges of attempted genocide and treason against 111 people arrested after election protests. Twenty-five accused, mostly journalists and publishers, have also been acquitted of all charges. However several opposition leaders remain in custody, accused of trying to violently overthrow the government. After the original arrests the Prime Minister told the parliament that releasing "these hardliners" would embolden them to think "whatever their action, they will not be held accountable." Thus, he stated, "the government has made it abundantly clear that interfering with the judicial process for the release of hardliners is out of the question. The government has taken this unwavering position not because of stubbornness or for a lack of willingness to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation." The ruling party has accused the group of trying to utilize street uprising techniques as a way to change regimes. Various supporters of the government and supporters of peaceful opposition parties who function in the parliament continue to accuse the imprisoned opposition group of "extremism" and accuse them of following the textbook directions given by Dr. Negede. An exiled and educated Ethiopian, Dr. Negede is known for the famous book he wrote on how to overthrow the government through street uprising. However Amnesty International and the supporters of the group in jail claim that the detainees are "prisoners of conscience" who are innocent and should be freed immediately and unconditionally. In June 2007, the Ethiopian court found the CUD opposition party's 38 senior figures guilty of the charges. After CUD's top leaders signed a paper accepting responsibility for the violence, some sources claimed the leaders would be freed in a short time. All of the leadership of the CUD party were released after the pardon board accepted their apology letter. According to VOA news, a CUD spokesman Hailu Araya said, "We signed it voluntarily. We apologized to the people, to the government. Yes, we did. That’s what the paper said, and that’s what we signed."

Ogaden conflict

Main article: 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden

Meles Zenawi's government has allegedly carried out brutal counter-insurgency techniques against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), particularly after the ONLF killed more than 70 Ethiopic and Ethiopian Oil facility workers in the region in April, 2007. Both sides accuse each other of human rights abuses. In June 2008, HRW criticized the lack of Western condemnation of Meles Zenawi's counter-insurgency policy and the military activities by Ethiopian Defence forces in reaction to ONLF's attacks.

Both fighting forces accuse each other of killing civilians and burning villages, with HRW claiming that accounts by refugees fleeing out of the country support ONLF's accusations. Both Ethiopia and its allies claim refugees fleeing out of Ethiopia, instead of taking shelter from the conflict inside Ethiopia, were supporters of the ONLF who cannot be used as an independent source of evidence.

Western governments continued to state that they will check into the various allegations from all sides.

Illness and death

In July 2012, questions arose concerning Zenawi's health when he did not attend African Union summit meetings in Addis Ababa. Opposition groups claimed that Zenawi may have already died on 16 July while undergoing treatment in Belgium; however, Deputy Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegne attributed Meles's absence to a minor illness. A press conference, during which the government planned to clarify Zenawi's health status, was scheduled for 18 July but postponed until later in the week. While the government acknowledged that Zenawi had been hospitalised, it stated that his condition was not serious. There were further rumours of his death when he was not seen in public after the 2012 G20 summit and at the time of the death of the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos.

On 20 August, Meles Zenawi died at 23:40, after contracting an infection, in Belgium after recovering from an undisclosed illness although foreign diplomats said he died from cancer. Minister of Information Bereket Simon announced on state television:

It's a sad day for Ethiopia, the man who led our country for the past 21 years and brought economic and democratic changes, has died. We have lost our respected leader. Meles has been receiving treatment abroad. He was getting better and we were expecting him to return to Addis Ababa. But he developed a sudden infection and died around 11:40pm last night. His body will be returned to Ethiopia soon. We have set up a committee to organise his funeral. More information will be released about that soon. As per Ethiopian law, Hailemariam Desalegn has now taken over the leadership. He will also be in charge of the Ethiopian military and all other government institutions. I would like to stress, nothing in Ethiopia will change. The government will continue. Our policies and institutions will continue despite western governments fearing the country will slip into a fragile state. Desalegn will be confirmed by parliament."

Desalegn said: "Under the Ethiopian constitution the deputy Prime Minister will take the oath of office before parliament. [MPs should convene] as soon as possible."

After his body was repatriated on an Ethiopian Airlines flight two days later, thousands of mourners had congregated on streets from the airport to Zenawi's former residence to pay their last respects as his coffin, draped in the flag of Ethiopia, was accompanied by a military band. The event was attended by political, military and religious leaders, as well as diplomats and his wife, Azeb Mesfin, who was dressed in black as she left the plane. The body would lie in state until the funeral date is arranged. A declaration of national mourning was also issued.

Reactions

World leaders offered tributes to Zenawi following his death.

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Zenawi's "exceptional leadership."
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement that read: "[Netanyahu] presented his condolences to the Ethiopian people. Zenawi was loved in his country. He was also a true friend of Israel. During his mandate Ethiopia became one of Israel's closest friends."
• Prime Minister Raila Odinga called Zenawi "a great leader, an intellectual, someone who was very dedicated to pan-Africanism. One will remember him for the great effort he put in to transforming the Ethiopian economy."
• President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf praised Zenawi as "an economic transformer, he was a strong intellectual leader for the continent. In our regional meetings he stood out because of his intellect and his ability to respond and to lead dialogue on matters relating to African development. He will be missed in all of our meetings and all of our endeavour."
• Prime Minister David Cameron called Zenawi "an inspirational spokesman for Africa."
• Somaliland Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdullahi Omar said "Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was an exceptional leader who ensured prosperity and development for his people, and contributed enormously to peace and development initiatives throughout the Continent. He enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a visionary leader, both in Africa and on the world stage. In Somaliland, we deeply appreciate the close ties of friendship and mutual collaboration he helped forge between our peoples. We will work with the government of Ethiopia and its people to ensure that the warm and cooperative relations, whom the late Prime Minister nurtured, continue to grow."
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added that while she was "saddened," she also exclaimed "that Ethiopia will peacefully navigate the political transition according to its constitution." She added that Zenawi's "personal commitment" was a benefit to the economy of Ethiopia as was "his role in promoting peace and security in the region, while further nothing that the interest in "regional security" was unchanged.
• The State Department's Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson said: "Whether one was a friend or critic of Mr. Meles. The consensus around Africa is that Africa has lost one of its greatest intellectual leaders. No question there was a need for greater democratisation [and] yes, more work needs to be done in that area."
• President Barack Obama released the statement: "It was with sadness that I learned of the passing of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia. Prime Minister Meles deserves recognition for his lifelong contribution to Ethiopia’s development, particularly his unyielding commitment to Ethiopia’s poor. I met with Prime Minister Meles at the G-8 Summit in May and recall my personal admiration for his desire to lift millions of Ethiopians out of poverty through his drive for food security. I am also grateful for Prime Minister Meles’s service for peace and security in Africa, his contributions to the African Union, and his voice for Africa on the world stage. On behalf of the American people, I offer my condolences to Prime Minister Meles’ family and to the people of Ethiopia on this untimely loss, and confirm the U.S. Government’s commitment to our partnership with Ethiopia. Going forward, we encourage the Government of Ethiopia to enhance its support for development, democracy, regional stability and security, human rights, and prosperity for its people."

Amnesty International called for the new administraion to end Zenawi's "ever-increasing repression" and Human Rights Watch similarly added that the next administration should repeal the 2009 anti-terrorism law. As the New York Times asked about a gap between the United States of America's strategic and ideological goals in relation to its support for Zenawi's government, it quoted HRW researcher Leslie Lefkow as saying: "There is an opportunity here. If donors are shrewd, they will use the opportunity that this presents to push a much stronger and bolder human rights stance and need for reform." Author Dan Connell, who had interviewed Zenawi in June, said that "he seemed focused [then] on wrapping up a number of major projects as if he were aware the end was near. Meles knew his days were numbered." The Committee to Protect Journalists cited and criticised the secrecy around Zenawi's death. The Washington Post said that the "circumstances of his death remained laced with intrigue."

Regional groups responded with the Ogaden National Liberation Front saying it hoped his death "may usher [in] a new era of stability and peace" and Al Shabaab adding that it was celebrating the "uplifting news."

International accolades

Awards

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has received various international awards for setting up a good foundation for the development of Ethiopia. Even though Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world, the near double-digit annual economic growth rate recently is seen as the beginning of Ethiopia's long marathon struggle to eliminate poverty. Acknowledging the rapid GDP growth of the country, the UK newspaper The Economist said in December 2007 that "Ethiopia's economy has been growing at record speed in recent years." In 2008, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) described the speed of Ethiopia's economic growth in recent years as the "fastest for a non-oil exporting country in Sub-Saharan Africa", with Ethiopia ranked as the second-most attractive African country for investors.

Although many opposition parties and parliamentarian critics disagree, some Ethiopians also portray the arrival date of Meles Zenawi's government, 28 May 1991 (Ginbot 20), as the "birth of democracy" in Ethiopia, while diplomats and analysts say the country is slowly moving towards democracy.

• Before he joined the Medical Faculty of Addis Ababa University, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was awarded the Haile Selassie I Prize Trust, a highly selective award given only to the most outstanding graduating students.

• The Rwanda government awarded Meles Zenawi Rwanda’s National Liberation Medal, the "Uruti," in July 2009 for helping to liberate Rwanda and end the genocide in the country. Alongside two other African leaders, Meles was also given Rwanda's highest accolade, the "Umurinzi" medal, Rwanda’s Campaign Against Genocide Medal.

• PM Meles Zenawi was awarded the World Peace Prize for his contributions to global peace and his effort to stabilize the Horn of Africa through cooperation with Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD).

• Tabor 100, an African American entrepreneur’s organization, honored PM Meles Zenawi for his contribution toward economic and social transformation in Africa with its prestigious Crystal Eagle International Leadership Award in April 2005. Tabor 100, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization, calling Meles Zenawi “international leader of the year 2005”, also honored the efforts of the Ethiopian government in general for its war on poverty and backwardness.

• PM Meles Zenawi was awarded the Good Governance Award of the Global Coalition for Africa for leading Ethiopia along a democratic path during the challenging period of transition. He was selected for the good governance award by the US-based Corporate Council on Africa.

• PM Meles Zenawi received the Norway-based 2005 Yara Prize for Green Revolution (Yara) for initiating a good foundation for economic progress in Ethiopia, particularly in the agricultural sector, where the poor country has doubled its food production. During the award ceremony held in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on 3 September, the director of the UN project for Africa said, "With our support, Ethiopia can lift itself from poverty and hunger. Under Prime Minister Meles the country has created the grass roots structure to enable this to happen."

• Meles Zenawi was given the Africa Political Leadership Award of 2008 by the US-based newspaper, Africa Times. Previous winners of the award include Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and others.

• Ethiopia’s military honored Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for his leadership during the 1998–2000 war with its northern neighbour when Eritrea invaded Ethiopia in 1998.

• Residents of the historic and ancient UNESCO town of Axum in Ethiopia honored Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for his political and diplomatic leadership role in the return and re-erection of the Obelisk of Axum after a 68-year stay in Rome, Italy.

• Meles Zenawi received a Gold Order of Merit award from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in February 2007. PM Zenawi was given the CAF organisation's highest award for his services in advancing the progress of African football. Ethiopia was one of the founding countries of the CAF (1957) and the organization, with the dedication of AU leaders like Mr. Zenawi, was celebrating the International Year of African Football in 2007.

Positions

• Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is also a Co-Chairperson of the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA.) The Global Coailition for Africa brings together senior African policy makers and their partners to deepen dialogue and build consensus on Africa's priority development issues.
• The Prime Minister was the co-chairperson of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Nov.2006) Ethiopia is the Forum's co-chair country. It led to the adoption of the Beijing Action Plan (2007–2009) for partnership for economic progress and cultural exchanges. It also stated to support Africa's "development [of] international political, economic, trade and financial systems."
• In 2004, Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom appointed Prime Minister Meles Zenawi as one of the Commissioners taking part in the Commission for Africa.

Prime Minister Zenawi served as the Chairman of the Organization for African Unity (OAU, now the African Union – AU) from June 1995 to June 1996.

• In 2007, the African Union elected Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to chair the executive committee of the NEPAD (the New Partnership for Africa's Development)
• Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was chosen to represent Africa at the G8 Summit and the G20 summit in London.
• The African Union selected Meles Zenawi to lead an African Delegation to the Global Conference on Climate Change at Copenhagen in 2009.

• In February 2010, the UN named Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi as co-chair of the Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing, a new high-level U.N. advisory group on climate change financing.

Milestones

Several social, economic, religious and political developments and systems were established for the first time in Ethiopia under Meles Zenawi's rule.

• First regional referendum for peaceful Secession (Eritrea, 1991–)
• First Multi-party National election for opposition (2000, 2005, 2010)
• First institutionalized linguistic freedom at local level (1994–)
• First ethnic based federalism (since 1994)
• First private media outlets in Ethiopian history (since 1994)
• First consecutive double-digit GDP growth – International Monetary Fund (since 2006)
• First multi-party parliament with opposition MPs (since 2000)
• First unrestricted freedom of religion for evangelicals/Pentecostals (since 1994; a Pentecostal succeeded him in 2012)

Foundation

Meles Zenawi was given the Green Revolution award and a financial prize of 200,000 dollars by the Norwegian Yara Foundation in September 2005 "in recognition of past accomplishments and encouragement to achieve economic development for the people of Ethiopia."

Meles donated his $200,000 financial award to a foundation called "Fre—Addis Ethiopia Women Fund" (Fre-Addis Ethiopia Yesetoch Merja Mahiber). The Fre-Addis Ethiopia Women Fund has an objective "to empower girls through providing educational opportunities" and it currently supports 514 needy and orphan rural girls to pursue their education throughout the country.

Bibliography

• The Eritrean Struggle: From Where to Where? (1980)
• African Development: Dead Ends and New Beginnings (2006)
• Agricultural Development-Led Industrialisation (ADLI) strategy

Media appearances

• Motherland (Film 2010)
• Teachers TV (Interview)
• Al Jazeera (Interview)

See also

• Ethiopian Orthodox
• Azeb Mesfin
• Girma Wolde-Giorgis
• Haile Selassie
• Yohannes III
• Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-IV), 2008.
• Blanco Chivite, Manuel. Diario de Etiopía, Madrid, Vosa Ediciones, 1991

Quotations

• “I regret the deaths but these were not normal demonstrations. You don't see hand grenades thrown at normal demonstrations”--on post election issue
• "Africa's downfall has always been the cult of the personality. And their names always seem to begin with M. We've had Mobutu and Mengistu and I'm not going to add Meles to the list.”--Dimbleby questioning Meles on his exposure to the people.
• "We have taken measures and beefed up our defense capabilities around the border since December to prevent any miscalculation by the other side,” post-Eritrean-Ethiopian war complications
• "..countries pretend their foreign policy is based on democratisation when this is clearly not the case. For all the challenges in Zimbabwe, for example, it is a bit of a stretch to say it is less democratic than some of the sheikhdoms of the Gulf. But none of the sheikdoms has a problem visiting Europe."- Meles Zenawi's response about European sanctions and travel ban on Zimbabwe's Mugabe
• "If it is presumed that the Kenyans will democratise in order to eat the peanuts of development assistance from the European Union... it would be a big mistake"- Meles Zenawi's reaction to European threat of sanctions on Kenya.
• "Democracy is the expression of a sovereign people. To impose it from outside is inherently undemocratic."- Meles interviewed by The Guardian
• "It's true we have our disagreements on border issues, we have disagreements on trade and related issues, but you don't go invading a country whenever you have a dispute on trade issues, ... We have more civilized mechanisms on resolving such problems.” – after Eritrea's attack on Mekele, Ethiopia
• "America didn’t give us any money because of Somalia intervention. This doesn’t mean America hasn’t given us food aid or money for HIV prevention before. It certainly has. But we aren’t going to fight Somalia using Condoms." – Meles’s reply to MP Bulcha Demeksa’s teasing question on whether America gave financial support to Ethiopia for the Somalia intervention.
• "This is not your run-of-the-mill demonstration. This is an Orange Revolution gone wrong" – PM Zenawi accusing opposition parties for the violence.
• "I have never heard of any convincing reason as to why we should privatize land at this stage." Part of PM Zenawi's controversial reply to Dr. Abdul Mejid Hussien.
• "The violence has marred the image of Ethiopia,... The worst is clearly behind us and we do not expect any such violence in the near future.” --on post-election events
• "Even when we obey international laws after exhausting all peaceful means, some countries might not support our move to defend Ethiopia because of their own national interests or diplomatic rationale. So what do we do? Two choices: either we seat & welcome our enemies to invade our homes or we stand up for ourselves. I hope parliament chooses the second option...we don’t need the blessing of other nations to defend our country." --Meles speaking to parliament about Somali Islamic courts. (from amharic translation)
• "I am proud to be an Ethiopian. I am proud to be a part of that history."--Meles speaking to American intellectuals about Ethiopia and its history.
• "When they (Somali Jihadists) control the whole of Somalia it would be very naive to assume that they will mend their ways, cease to be terrorists and become very civilized and very tame pussycats." --Interview with AP on Somali extremists.
• "As we respond to the assault of our enemy and defend our country, we must never break international laws. Crime can not be solved by more crime." – Meles Zenawi speaking to Parliament 23 November 2006. (from Amharic translation)
• "We believe the problem between ourselves and Eritrea will have to be resolved through dialogue, but it takes two to tango"--on border dispute with Eritrea
• http://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/Facts%20About%20Ethiopia/Elections/Letter%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Meles%20Zenawi%20to%20the%20Editor%20of%20the%20Ethiopian%20Herald.htm "The rest of the contextual factors have no relevance whatsoever to the investigative process. Indeed, they remind me of the famous Tina Turner song. 'What’s love got to do with it?'"] --Meles Zenawi's response to EU-EOM implying Mrs. Ana Gomez's alleged contradicting accusations.
• "So why don't you give them additional concessions?' We said, 'What concessions? Concessions from our sovereignty? That has never been done by any government in Ethiopia in 3,000 years.' That is the only thing of great value what we have inherited from our past, our unflinching determination to keep our...country independent even if we are dying of hunger."--Response to EU's demands for Eritrea
• "While they are entitled to their own opinion, this government and this country are incapable, unwilling and unable to be run like some banana republic from Capitol Hill. It is very worrisome that some of these individuals appear to have entertained such views."-- In response Rep. Donald Payne's pressure for Hailu Shawel & Co.

External links

• Biography
• Column archive at The Guardian
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Meles Zenawi at IMDb
• Template:Worldcat id