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Sub Saharan Africa
Ethiopia |
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Country information
HISTORY
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa. It resisted colonisation by Italy and achieved international recognition in 1896 as a traditional monarchy, led by Emperor Menelik II. For much of the 20th century Ethiopia was ruled by Haile Selassie, crowned as Emperor in 1930. In 1936 Italy attacked Ethiopia from its colonies in neighbouring Somalia and Eritrea and occupied the country until 1941. Haile Selassie spent his exile in the UK, and was restored to power with British and Commonwealth military assistance. His long rule ended with the Ethiopian Revolution of 1974.
Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam emerged as the leader of the Provisional Military Administrative Council (known as the Derg) in 1977 which became a brutal Marxist dictatorship. Ethiopia was wracked by civil war for most of the Derg period, including a secessionist war in the northern province of Eritrea, an irredentist war with Somalia, and regional rebellions - notably in Tigray and Oromia. The population experienced massive human rights abuse and intense economic hardship, including acute famine in 1984/5.The Derg was overthrown in May 1991 when rebels of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) captured Addis Ababa. Meles Zenawi took the leadership.
