Ministry of Defense
የመከላከያ ሚኒስቴር Ministeera Raayyaa Ittisa Biyyaa (Itoophiyaa)
Agency overview
Formed23 August 1995 (1995-08-23)
JurisdictionGovernment of Ethiopia
HeadquartersAddis Ababa
Agency executives
Child agency

The Ministry of Defense (Amharic: የመከላከያ ሚኒስቴር, romanized: yemekelakeya mīnīsitēri) is a cabinet-level office in charge of defense-related matters of Ethiopia. It oversees the Ethiopian National Defense Force and Ethiopian Defense Industry. The current minister is Abraham Belay.[1]

History

This institution can trace its origins back to the Ministry of War, which Emperor Menelik II established in 1907, and made Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis Minister over it.[2] Emperor Haile Selassie re-established the Ministry of War in 1942, making Ras Abebe Aregai its Minister.[3] The Ministry is headed by a civilian minister which is a requirement of Article 87 of the current constitution of Ethiopia. It was established 23 August 1995 with the passing of Proclamation 4/1995, which also established the other 14 Ministries.[4]

On 9 January 2022, a new building of the Ministry of Defense was inaugurated. The five floor building of more than 700 offices and facilities serves now as the headquarters of the ministry, and is located on 13 hectares of land in Addis Ababa.[5][6]

Structure

Military Industry

Main article: Defense Industry Sector (Ethiopia)

National Defense Engineering College

Defense Engineering College was established in 1997 by the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense (MoD) to produce highly professional educational services.[8]

Agencies

List of ministers

Minister of War/Defence of the Ethiopian Empire

No. Portrait Name
(birth–death) 		Term of office Political party Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Habte Giyorgis 1907 1926 19 years Independent
2 Mulugeta Yeggazu 1926 1936 10 years Independent
3 Birru Walda Gabriel 1936 1942 6 years Independent [3]
4 Abiye Abebe 1943 1947 4 years Independent
5 Abebe Aregai 1947 1949 2 years Independent
Abiye Abebe 1949 1955 6 years Independent
Abebe Aregai 1955 17 December 1960 5 years Independent
Lieutenant General

Merid Mengesha

17 December 1960 1966 6 years Independent [9][10][11][12]
Lieutenant General

Kebede Gebre

1966 28 February 1974 8 years Independent [13][14]
Abiye Abebe 28 February 1974 22 July 1974 4 months Independent [10]

Minister of Defense of Socialist Ethiopia

No. Portrait Name
(birth–death) 		Term of office Political party Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Major General

Aman Andom

22 July 1974 17 November 1974 4 years Workers' Party of Ethiopia [15]
2 Ambassador

Ayelew Mandefro

6 December 1974 19 September 1977 [16]
3 Brigadier General Taye Tilahun 19 September 1977 January 1980
4 Lieutenant General

Tesfaye Gebre Kidan

January 1980 14 May 1988 7 years Workers' Party of Ethiopia [17][18][19]
5 Major General

Haile Giorgis Habte Mariam

14 May 1988 16 May 1989 1 year Workers' Party of Ethiopia [17][20]

Minister of Defense of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1991-present)

No. Portrait Name
(birth–death) 		Term of office Political party Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
Siye Abraha 1991 1995 4 years
Tamrat Layne 1995 ? [21]
Abadula Gemeda
(born 1958) 		16 October 2001 2005 3–4 years Oromo Democratic Party
Kuma Demeksa
(born 1958) 		2005 30 October 2008 2–3 years Oromo Democratic Party
Siraj Fegessa
(born 1971) 		30 October 2008 16 October 2018 10 years, 170 days SEPDM
Aisha Mohammed Mussa
(born 1970) 		16 October 2018 18 April 2019 184 days ARDUF
Lemma Megersa
(born 1970) 		18 April 2019 18 August 2020 1 year, 122 days Oromo Democratic Party
Kenea Yadeta 18 August 2020 6 October 2021 1 year, 49 days Independent
Abraham Belay 6 October 2021 Incumbent 2 years, 140 days Prosperity Party

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Ethiopian parliament approves PM Abiy's new cabinet". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  2. ^ Zewde, Bahru (2001). A History of Modern Ethiopia (2nd ed.). London: James Currey. p. 115.
  3. ^ a b Perham 1969, p. 85.
  4. ^ Text of the proclamation[permanent dead link] (accessed 13 July 2010)
  5. ^ Tadesse, Helen (9 January 2022). "Defense Ministry Inaugurates New State of Art Building". Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Defense Ministry Inaugurates New Headquarters – Ethiopian Monitor". 9 January 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Government | FDRE Office of the Prime Ministers". www.pmo.gov.et. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  8. ^ "DevelopmentAid". DevelopmentAid. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  9. ^ "SPECIAL REPORT THE SUCCESSION PROBLEM IN ETHIOPIA | CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov)". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b Ginbot 7 2010, p. 6.
  11. ^ Operations, United States Congress House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural (1965). Agriculture in Africa: A Report, Eighty-ninth Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  12. ^ Ofcansky, Thomas P.; Shinn, David H. (29 March 2004). Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6566-2.
  13. ^ "Ethiopia's Lt. General Kebede's Memorandum to Emperor Haile Selassie on the Resolution of "the Issue of Eritrea"". February 2020.
  14. ^ Shifaw, Dawit (24 July 2012). The Diary of Terror: Ethiopia 1974 to 1991. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4669-4525-8.
  15. ^ Ginbot 7 2010, p. 7.
  16. ^ Mandefro, Mehret (28 July 2020). "Farewell To My Beloved Father Ambassador Ayalew Mandefro". Medium. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  17. ^ a b Ginbot 7 2010, p. 9.
  18. ^ Tessema, Marshet Tadesse (26 September 2018). Prosecution of Politicide in Ethiopia: The Red Terror Trials. Springer. ISBN 9789462652552.
  19. ^ (PDF) https://marxists.architexturez.net/history/erol/ethiopia/building-ethiopia.pdf. ((cite web)): Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ "Ethiopian Leader Names New Armed Forces Chiefs". Associated Press.
  21. ^ "Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Tamrat Layne Admassu will present lecture on "Transformation of Life in Jesus" March 13". Whitworth University. 3 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.

Bibliography

Categories