Yohannes was killed by a stray bullet in a battle in which his forces were victorious against the Mahdists in In he signed the Treaty of Wuchale with the Italians but the Italians secretly changed the Italian language version. On discovering this trickery, Menelik demanded the Italians change the key clauses. The Italians refused and invaded Ethiopia from their coastal colony in Eritrea.
The Italian army was destroyed at the Battle of Adwa in Victory at Adwa Day is a national holiday celebrated on 2 March European calendar. It was the first time an African army had defeated a European colonial invasion in open battle. He built diplomatic relations with European powers including, notably, Russia. He encouraged modernisation and development including the Djibouti to Addis Ababa railway line built by the French.
He established the first bank and postal system and brought electricity to the new capital which he founded and named Addis Ababa, meaning New Flower. Under his reign the first telephone and telegraph service was set up and the first cars were seen in Ethiopia.
Ras can translate as head, Duke or Lord. Having been regent from , Haile Selassie b. He went into exile after the initially successful fascist Italian invasion of In , Haile Selassie returned from exile after the Italians had been expelled with the support of the British army now at war with Germany and Italy.
The Ethiopian resistance had been continuously active during the occupation. After the war Haile Selassie set about modernising Ethiopia. He invited ordinary Italian soldiers to remain and contribute to rebuilding Ethiopia. Many did, building respected families and businesses with their Ethiopian wives. Haile Selassie was a feudal monarch and most Ethiopians were peasant farmers living under the power of local, landed aristocrats.
His was the final word on major decisions but he did face significant resistance to some of his reforms from the nobles and clergy especially on tax and land matters.
He took a special interest in education and appointed himself Minister of Education establishing the first university and many schools. Haile Selassie helped start the Organisation of African Unity in now known as the African Union and was its first official chair person.
The African Union headquarters continues to be in Addis Ababa leading to Ethiopia being known as the diplomatic capital of Africa. In an attempted coup was crushed by the military and lacked popular support.
However, there was sympathy for change amongst students and some members of the educated elite. The increased advocacy for the rights of the peasantry and poor, especially from students, spurred Haile Selassie to speed up his reforms. Increasingly, Haile Selassie focused on foreign affairs and left national affairs to his prime ministers. While his prestige grew internationally, there were growing problems at home. A major famine in that killed up to , people was, at first, denied by the imperial government.
There was widespread outrage at this delay in asking the world for help. Buerk's initial reports are credited with stimulating the international community to respond on a massive scale including Band Aid and Live Aid. The military coup on 22 September saw the aging emperor publicly humiliated by being escorted from the Imperial Palace in a VW Beetle car. He was not initially harmed.
A military council known as the Derg took power and summarily executed 59 members of the former imperial government. Haile Selassie died in Many believe he was strangled in the basement of his palace by, or at the orders of, Lt Col Mengistu Haile Mariam who then systematically murdered his rivals on the military council and established himself as undisputed head of state by The new Marxist government made social reforms and nationalized the assets of the church, aristocracy and landowners.
Financially supported by the Soviet Union, Ethiopia became a totalitarian state and greatly increased the size of its military. Cuban soldiers came and fought alongside Ethiopian soldiers against some of the regional rebellions that followed this upheaval. Ties with the USA were cut. In this milieu, in , Somalia invaded the eastern Ethiopian territory known as the Ogaden. This invasion was only repelled with a huge airlift of Soviet weapons and the support of 17, Cuban soldiers.
The Red Terror of — 78 was a time of extreme blood shed when hundreds of thousands of accused enemies of the Derg were tortured and killed. Today, there is a museum to this dark period in Addis Ababa.
Mengistu fled to be the guest of his erstwhile supporter Mugabe in Zimbabwe. He still lives there despite being found guilty of genocide by Ethiopian courts.
Mengistu is considered responsible for the deaths of up to 2,, Ethiopians. In a referendum that followed this victory, Eritrea voted for full independence from Ethiopia and became an independent state in after about 30 years of guerrilla war.
The constitution created the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. In Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and a multiparty parliament were elected in the first of the 5 yearly elections that have followed.
Cushitic language speakers are believed to be the original inhabitants of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the oldest independent countries in Africa. Unlike other African countries, Ethiopia remained independent until , when Italy under Benito Mussolini invaded the country but only for a brief stint.
The country had been governed by monarchies. This is the country, where Christianity first made its inroad in the African continent. When Islam found its way to its neighbours Somaliland, constant fighting ensued as more and more Ethiopians were recruited and converted into Islam. Civil wars we very common in Ethiopia's existence in the 19th Century. On Sept. Mengistu Haile Mariam became head of state in During this period Ethiopia fought against Eritrean secessionists as well as Somali rebels, and the government fought against its own people in a campaign called the; 'red terror'.
Thousands of political opponents were killed. Mengistu remained leader until , when his greatest supporter, the Soviet Union, dismantled itself. She took office a week after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed a cabinet with half the posts taken by women.
Prime minister: Abiy Ahmed. The new leader pledged to try to end longstanding tensions with neighbouring Eritrea, and within months the two countries declared that the state of war between them was over. Mr Abiy also pledged to bring more transparency to government and reconciliation to a country that had been torn by protests since He is Ethiopia's first leader from the Oromo ethnic group, which has been at the centre of anti-government protests since The prime minister faced the first major challenge to his political course in a coup attempt in Amhara State in June The army chief and governor of Amhara State were killed in putting down the coup.
Another challenge arose in late , when tensions with Tigray region led the federal government to send in troops after an unsanctioned regional election. The change of government in ushered in a new era for the media, which for many years had operated in one of the region's most restrictive environments.
But Reporters Without Borders says there have been no significant improvements to harsh media laws. The state controls most broadcasting outlets, including national broadcasters ETV and Radio Ethiopia.
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