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Country Profile

Ethiopia:

Ably’s transformation

of an African country Ably Ahmed, Ethiopian Prime Minister.

thiopia is Africa’s oldest independent Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded
Ecountry and its second largest in and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
terms of population. It has a unique agreed in early July, 2018 to end the who made peace with bitter foe Eritrea.
cultural heritage, being the home of the longest standing “frozen war” in the He was awarded the prize for his efforts
Ethiopian Orthodox Church - one of the Horn of Africa. For nearly two decades, to “achieve peace and international
oldest Christian denominations - and a the countries were neither at war, nor at cooperation”.
monarchy that ended only in the coup of peace. Mr Abiy’s peace deal with Eritrea ended a
1974. Apart from a five-year occupation In early 2018, the prospects of resolving 20-year military stalemate following their
by Mussolini’s Italy, it has never been the Ethiopia-Eritrea war seemed distant. 1998-2000 border war. He was named
colonized. Ethiopia was focused inwards. All as the winner of the 100th Nobel Peace
It is a symbol of African independence and efforts were centered on negotiating the Prize in Oslo, where he will receive the
pride throughout the continent’s colonial leadership transition and preventing award in December. It is worth some nine
period, and it is a founder member of further domestic unrest. On the other million Swedish crowns (about £730,000;
the United Nations. Addis Ababa, the side, Eritrea showed signs of emerging $900,000).
capital city, is host to the African Union from years of isolation. The country’s Drought and civil conflict left Ethiopia
headquarters and many international ports on the Red Sea gained strategic in a state of turmoil under a Marxist
organizations. relevance as a base for the United Arab dictatorship following the fall of the
Ethiopia’s location gives it strategic Emirates, Saudi Arabia and their partners monarchy, until 1991, when the long
dominance as a hub in the Horn of Africa, in the war in Yemen. authoritarian rule of Meles Zenawi
the East and Central African region and When Prime Minister Abiy took office brought a degree of stability.
is close to the Middle East. The country in April 2018, the tide turned. He The Derg overthrew the Ethiopian Empire
borders Eritrea in the North East, Somalia immediately signaled his intent for and Emperor Heile Selassie in a coup
in the South East, Kenya in the South, rapprochement with Eritrea. He later d’état on 12 September 1974, establishing
South Sudan in the South West and Sudan announced that Ethiopia would accept Ethiopia as a Maxist-Leninist state.
in the West. Mengistu Heile Mariam, a soldier and
The independence of Eritrea in 1991- politician ruled Ethiopia starting 1977 to
after World War II, Eritrea was annexed 1991,
to Ethiopia- effectively rendered Ethiopia A widespread famine affected Ethiopia
landlocked, and for geopolitical reasons, from 1983 to 1985. The worst famine to hit
has been using neighboring Djibouti’s the country in a century, it left 1.2 million
main port for the last two decades. dead. 400,000 refugees left the country,
However, with the recent peace with and 2.5 million people were internally
Eritrea, Ethiopia is set to resume accessing displaced. Almost 200,000 children were
the Eritrean ports of Assab and Massawa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia orphaned.
for its international trade.
On this day in 1991, Eritrean People’s the 2002 boundary decision of the According to Human Right Watch more
than half its mortality could be attributed
independent commission established
Liberation Front forces moved into the to “human rights abuses causing the
capital Asmara, reinstating independence, by the 2000 peace settlement. Previous famine to come earlier, strike harder and
following a 30-year war against the Ethiopian governments had rejected that extend further than would otherwise have
Ethiopian military regime. ruling.

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