People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

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የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝባዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ
Yä-Ityop̣p̣əya Həzbawi Dimokrasiyawi Ripäblik
People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
1987-1991
Flag of Ethiopia # history
Coat of arms of Ethiopia # history
flag coat of arms
Official language Amharic
Capital Addis Ababa
Form of government People's Socialist Republic
Government system One-party system
Head of state President Mengistu Haile Mariam
Head of government Prime Minister of Ethiopia
surface 1,221,900 km²
population 43.8 million (1987)
49.9 million (1991)
Population density 1986: 34.7 inhabitants per km²
1987: 39.7 inhabitants per km²
1991: 45.4 inhabitants per km²
gross domestic product US $ 10.4 billion (1987) US $
13.3 billion (1991)
Gross domestic product per inhabitant US $ 237 (1987) US $
266 (1991)
currency 1 Ethiopian Birr = 100 Santim
founding February 22, 1987 (Proclamation of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia)
resolution May 28, 1991 (overthrow of the government)
National anthem Ityopya, Ityopya, Ityopya kidemi
National holiday September 12th (Revolution Day)
Time zone UTC + 3
License Plate ETH
Telephone code +251
Ethiopia in its region (before 1993) .svg

The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ( Amharic የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝባዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ ; abbreviation DVR Ethiopia , also called People's Republic of Ethiopia ) was officially the state of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991, when it was led by the communist government under the head of state Mengistu Haile Mariam under the leadership of the Labor Party of Ethiopia (WPE) was established.

The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was the first republican regime in the history of Ethiopia . It replaced the Provisional Military Administrative Council ( Derg ) , which had ruled since the 1974 coup , a communist military dictatorship that previously had government responsibility, and established a one-party state with the WPE as the supreme authority.

The DPR existed until May 1991, when Mengistu Haile Mariam fled Ethiopia and military units of the Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples took the capital Addis Ababa .

history

The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was officially established on February 22, 1987, three weeks after the February 1 national referendum that adopted the official constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia - although the derg continued until late September, long after the June general election who retained power. In June 1987 , the Ethiopian parliament was elected for the first and only time in the People's Republic of Shengo . Numerous ex-Derg officers received posts in the new government.

Proclaimed on September 10, 1987, the government followed the government of the Derg, although the Derg still partially existed in power. Symbol of a vital power, this republic did not exist for more than five years. Mengistu Haile Mariam was its first president, but this was confronted with numerous ethnic and counter-revolutionary liberation movements in the Eritrean War of Secession and in the national civil war .

During the short lifespan of the Ethiopian DPR, its authorities were continuously challenged - not only by fighting in the former Italian Eritrea , but also by internal resistance groups, above all the Tigray People's Liberation Front . In 1987, a drought also threatened 5 million people in Eritrea and Tigray. This time, however, the international community was better prepared to send food to the affected areas at the right time and to prevent hunger and massive migratory movements. Many supporters of the Ethiopian regime used a policy of restraint to prevent the shipment of food to areas opposed by rebels. The combined effects of famine and civil war then drove the economy into a state of collapse. The counterinsurgency strategy of the Ethiopian DPR also caused minor famines in rebel areas and forced many people to stay in refugee camps.

Mengistu Haile Mariam gave up power on May 21, 1991 to hand it over to his successor, Tesfaye Gebre Kidan , who only remained in power for a short time, until May 28, 1991. The protagonists among the rebel movements, including Meles Zenawi at the head of the Tigray People's Liberation Front , succeeded in overthrowing the regime and installed the interim government of Ethiopia in their place until 1995.

Administrative division

On September 18, 1987, the regions were reorganized by a parliamentary resolution: the country was divided into 25 regions and five autonomous regions. The establishment of the autonomous regions was a reaction to the rebellions and independence movements in different parts of the country.

  • Kaffa
  • Metekel
  • North Gondar
  • North Omo
  • Northern Shoah
  • North Wällo
  • Ogaden (autonomous region)
  • East Godscham
  • East Harerge
  • Eastern Shoah

Contrary to certain sources, the Gemu-Gofa and Nazret regions never existed in the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Political leadership

President
Prime Minister

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The World Factbook 1990
  2. ↑ a b c d Consultation with the World Bank
  3. ↑ Ethiopia Parliamentary Chamber: Elections held in 1995 (PDF; 10 kB), PARLINE database (last accessed on October 20, 2009)
  4. ↑ Facts and data September 10, 1987.
  5. ↑ A Country Study: Ethiopia (US Library of Congress)
  6. ↑ Human Rights Watch's reports and research: Mengistus Economic War Against Peasants (PDF; 151 kB)
  7. ^ News May 21, 1991.
  8. ↑ News May 28, 1991.
  9. ↑ for a map of this structure cf. Gebru Tareke: Ethiopia. Power & Protest. Peasant Revolts in the Twentieth Century. Red Sea Press, Lawrenceville NJ et al. 1996, ISBN 1-569-02019-1 .