Ethiopia
1944-1974







Ethiopia since 1974



In 1973 thousands died of famine in some parts of the country. As a consequence of the OIL CRISIS and the closure of the SUEZ CANAL, prices, especially for fuel, suddenly increased, causing civil unrest. A group of army officers used the opportunity and seized power in a coup d'etat; some time later Lt. MENGISTU HAILE MARIAM gained control of the military junta called DERG, and he turned Ethiopia into a socialist state. Most of Ethiopia's industries were nationalized, a one-party-state established, agriculture collectivized. The military government continued a centralist policy and continued to fight the Eritrean separatists.
Meanwhile, in the province of TIGRAY another group of politically discontented took up weapons against the Addis Ababa regime (1976), adding to an already complex situation.
In 1977 factional fights broke out within the Derg, and Mengistu prevailed after a year of 'Red Terror'. The USSR, realizing that Ethiopia was more populous than Somalia and Eritrea, made a turnabout in it's African policy, providing Ethiopia with financial and military support (1977) while dropping Somalia and Eritrea like hot potatoes. The newly trained and equipped Ethiopian army quickly regained ground in Eritrea and the Ogaden, while it took time for their opponents to look for new arms supplies and military advisors. In 1981 it came close to crushing the Eritrean EPLF.
In time it turned out that the Mengistu regime was as oppressive as Haile Selassie. In Ogaden and Eritrea the guerillas regained control of most of the countryside, the better equipped Ethiopian army holding on to key positions such as major cities, supplying them by armed convoys and through the air.
In 1984/85 the country again was struck by a severe famine, thousands dying every week. The crises was all the more severe, as Ethiopia's agriculture was inefficiently administrated and the population growth unchecked. International aid came in. In 1985 the government pursued a policy of VILLAGIZATION, concentrating the population in larger settlements.
The Mengistu regime, harshly criticized for it's human rights abuses, depended heavily of foreign (Soviet bloc) aid. With the disintegration of the Soviet block in 1989, this aid quickly dried up. Ethiopia's government fell apart; a coalition of freedom fighters took over. ERITREA now virtually was independent, the major obstacle to it's international recognition now being the OAU charter.
Over time, the new regime in Addis Abeba regained control. In 1998 a conflict with Eritrea over border regions arose; it escalated into fuill war in 2000, the Ethiopian army occupying much more than just the contested stretches of land. Ethiopia again faces severe drought, the difference to 1974 being that the country's population has doubled in the meantime. Unchecked population growth is a real problem to deal with, as is AIDS.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Library of Congress, Country Studies Ethiopia
Freedom to Write : Ethiopia, from Pen American Center, about human rights abuses
Journal of Humanitarian Assistance : Ethiopia
The Spatial Imagination of Oromia : The Ethiopian State and Oromo Transnational Politics. by Bas van Heur, diss. Utrecht 2004
CASCON Case ETE : Ethiopia-Eritrea 1974-1993, by L.P. Bloomfield, L. Moulton
CASCON Case OGA : Somalia - Ethiopia (Ogaden) 1977-1988, by L.P. Bloomfield, L. Moulton
DOCUMENTS Flag of Ethiopia, from FOTW
Ethiopian banknotes, from Ron Wise's World Paper Money
Documents on Ethiopian History from World History Archives
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia died at 83, obituary Aug. 28th 1975, from NY Times
Estimates of Death Toll in Eritrean-Ethiopian War, 1998-2000, posted by Matthew White, scroll down for Eritrea-Ethiopian War
REFERENCE Harold G. Marcus, A History of Ethiopia, 1995, Cjapters 13 : The Revolution, to 1977 (pp.181-201) and Chapter 14 : The Failure of the Revolution, to 1991 (pp.202-220)
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1975 pp.289-290 (on events in 1974) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1976 pp.335-337 (on events in 1975) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1977 pp.333-336 (on events in 1976) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1978 pp.378-380 (on events in 1977) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1979 pp.372-374 (on events in 1978) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1980 pp.370-372 (on events in 1979) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1981 pp.372-374 (on events in 1980) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1982 pp.371-372 (on events in 1981) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1983 pp.367-368 (on events in 1982) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1984 pp.370-372 (on events in 1983) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1985 pp.464-465, 674 (on events in 1984) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1986 pp.459-460, 670 (on events in 1985) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1988 pp.388-389, 592 (on events in 1987) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1989 pp.388-389, 592 (on events in 1988) [G]
Article Ethiopia, from : Britannica Book of the Year 1990 pp.405-406, 607 (on events in 1989) [G]
Article Ethiopia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1993 pp.360-361, 604 (on events in 1992) [G]
Article Ethiopia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1994 pp.358-359, 605 (on events in 1993) [G]
Article Ethiopia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1995 pp.404, 605 (on events in 1994) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1975-1976 pp.900-905 (data of 1974-1975) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1978-1979 pp.433-439 (data of 1977-1978) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1980-1981 pp.434-440 (data of 1979-1980) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1983-1984 pp.446-452 (data of 1982-1983) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1984-1985 pp.444-449 (data of 1983-1984) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1985-1986 pp.446-451 (data of 1984-1985) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1987-1988 pp.457-461 (data of 1986-1987) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1988-1989 pp.459-463 (data of 1987-1988) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1989-1990 pp.462-466 (data of 1988-1989) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1990-1991 pp.461-465 (data of 1989-1990) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1991-1992 pp.461-465 (data of 1990-1991) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1992-1993 pp.530-534 (data of 1991-1992) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1993-1994 pp.537-541 (data of 1992-1993) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1994-1995 pp.528-531 (data of 1993-1994) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1995-1996 pp.526-530 (data of 1994-1995) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1996-1997 pp.466-469 (data of 1995-1996) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1997-1998 pp.476-479 (data of 1996-1997) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1998-1999 pp.521-525 (data of 1997-1998) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 2000 pp.600-605 (data of 1998-1999) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 2001 pp.580-585 (data of 1999-2000) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 2002 pp.605-610 (data of 2000-2001) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 2003 pp.608-613 (data of 2001-2002) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 2004 pp.608-613 (data of 2002-2003) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Statesman's Yearbook 2005 pp.607-612 (data of 2003-2004) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Americana Annual 1976 pp.71, 239-240 (on events of 1975) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Americana Annual 1989 p.224 (on events of 1988) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Americana Annual 1990 pp.223-224 (on events of 1989) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Americana Annual 1992 pp.229-230 (on events of 1991) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Americana Annual 1993 p.230 (on events of 1992) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : Americana Annual 1994 pp.228-229 (on events of 1993) [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : The World in Figures 1st ed. 1976 pp.66-68 [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : The World in Figures 2nd ed. 1978 pp.66-68 [G]
Article : Ethiopia, in : The World in Figures 4th ed. 1984 pp.66-68 [G]
Entry : Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Cabinet, p.38; Background Notes, pp.551-555, in : Countries of the World and their Leaders Yearbook, 2003 [G]
Entry : Ethiopia, pp.454-457 in : IMF, International Financial Statistics Yearbook 2001 [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on October 20th 2006

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