Ethiopia

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is the oldest independent state in Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea, the Somali Federation, the East African Federation and the North African Caliphate.

## History

### Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century

The early 20th century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I, who came to power after Iyasu V was deposed. He undertook a nationwide modernization campaign from 1916, when he was made a Ras and Regent (Inderase) for Zewditu I and became the de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. Following Zewditu's death on 2 November 1930, he succeeded her as Emperor. The independence of Ethiopia was interrupted by the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and Italian occupation (1936–1941). During this time, Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations in 1935.

Following the entry of Italy into World War II, British Empire forces, together with patriot Ethiopian fighters, officially liberated Ethiopia in the course of the East African Campaign in 1941. An Italian guerrilla campaign continued until 1943. This was followed by British recognition of Ethiopia's full sovereignty, with the signing of the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement in December 1944.

In 1952, Haile Selassie orchestrated the federation with Eritrea. He dissolved this in 1962 and annexed Eritrea, which resisted and finally won its Eritrean War of Independence. Haile Selassie played a leading role in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. Opinion within Ethiopia turned against Haile Selassie I owing to the worldwide oil crisis of 1973, which caused a sharp increase in gasoline prices starting on 13 February 1974; food shortages; uncertainty regarding the succession; border wars, and discontent in the middle class created through modernization. Haile Selassie's reign came to an end on 12 September 1974, when a Soviet-backed Marxist–Leninist military junta, the "Derg" led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, deposed him. The new Provisional Military Administrative Council established a one-party communist state which was called People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in March 1975.

The ensuing regime suffered several coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and a huge refugee problem. In 1977, the Ogaden War resulted in Somalia capturing part of the Ogaden region. Ethiopia recovered it after receiving massive military aid from the USSR, Cuba, South Yemen, East Germany and North Korea. Insurrections against Communist rule sprang up, particularly in the northern regions of Tigray and Eritrea. In 1989, the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with other ethnically based opposition movements to form the coalition known as the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

In May 1991, EPRDF forces advanced on Addis Ababa and the Soviet Union did not intervene to save the government side. Mengistu fled the country to asylum in Zimbabwe, where he still resides. The Transitional Government of Ethiopia, composed of an 87-member Council of Representatives and guided by a national charter that functioned as a transitional constitution, was set up. In June 1992, the Oromo Liberation Front withdrew from the government; in March 1993, members of the Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic Coalition also left the government. In 1994, a new constitution was written that formed a bicameral legislature and a judicial system. The first formally multi-party election took place in May 1995, in which Meles Zenawi was elected the Prime Minister and Negasso Gidada was elected President.

In 1994, a constitution was adopted that led to Ethiopia's first multiparty election the following year. In May 1998, a border dispute with Eritrea led to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, which lasted until June 2000.

### Horn of Africa War

*See Full Article: Horn of Africa War*

In April 2022, Ethiopia and the EAF signed a mutual defence pact, assuring the defence against the expansion of the NAC. Tensions between Ethiopia and Somaliland grew as Somali separatists in Ethiopia began to launch a renew insurgency war. Somaliland was accused of supporting the rebels by the international community. On 17 August 2023, an Ethiopian fight jet bombed a suspected Somali militant base inside Somaliland, but as the jet returned to base, Somaliland anti-air defences shot down the jet. In response, Ethiopian artillery shelled a Somaliland patrol. On 23 August 2023, Ethiopian parliament declared war on Somaliland. Somaliland was quickly backed up by Somalia and the NAC. The EAF quickly intervened on the side of Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa War was officially declared.

The NAC invaded the north of Ethiopia and South Sudan, while Somali forces drove into the south and east. Ethiopia lost control of its largest and most important power station, the Grand Renaissance Dam in October and in November, the EAF launched a counter-offensive in Ethiopia against Somali and NAC forces. Eventually the NAC was driven back, but Somali forces were able to hold their ground. In February 2024, the Treaty of Beijing ended the war, with Somalia and Somaliland forming the Somali Federation, taking the Afar and Ogaden regions of Ethiopia.

## Government and Politics

The Prime Minister is the head of government and exercises executive power. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament. The president of Ethiopia is elected by the House of Peoples' Representatives for a six-year term. The prime minister is chosen by the parliament. The prime minister is designated by the party in power following legislative elections.
The Federal Parliamentary Assembly has two chambers: the Council of People's Representatives (Yehizbtewekayoch Mekir Bet) with 547 members, elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies; and the Council of the Federation (Yefedereshn Mekir Bet) with 110 members, one for each nationality, and one additional representative for each one million of its population, designated by the regional councils, which may elect them themselves or through popular elections.

The president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other federal judges, the prime minister submits candidates selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council to the House of People's Representatives for appointment.

### Administrative Regions

Ethiopia is divided into seven ethnically based and politically autonomous regional states and two chartered cities, begin Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. The states are subdivided into sixty-eight zones and further into 550 districts. The states are:

* Amhara
* Benishangul-Gumuz
* Gambela
* Harari
* Oromia
* Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region
* Tigray

### Foreign Relations

Ethiopia one of the founding members of the African Union and African Treaty Cooperation, and is a member of the G-30 economic forum. Along with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Nigeria and the EAF, Ethiopia is seen as one of ‘Africa’s Big Five’ states, being the most prominent economic and military powers on the continent. Ethiopia has strained relations with Eretria and the NAC, and does not recognise the Somali Federation’s sovereignty in Djibouti, Afar or Ogaden.