Profiles: Countries

ETHIOPIA: Transitive Government of Ethiopia

There were huge protests in Addis Abbaba during the social and economic crisis which followed. The army took power in 1974and the emperor was deposed. The army declared itself in favour of a socialist government, and in 1975 the banks were nationalised. This was followd by a radical land reform which collectivised all agricultural land. This brutal revolution, coming from above without the involvement of the masses, threw the country into chaos.

Conflict followed, and Eritrea rebelled in 1975. The rebellion was crushed with over 2000 summary executions in the Eritrean capital of Asmara. Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam took power in 1977. His brutal Marxist dictatorship was overthrown by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in May 1991.

Elections for the Transitional Government were held in June 1992. A new Constitution was adopted in December 1994. The new Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia came into being in August 1995, appointing Dr Negasso Gidada as President. A border dispute flared into war in May 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea and as a result the United Nations adopted an arms embargo on the two countries. New elections will take place in 2000.     1     2     3