View source for Derg

{{short description|1974–1987 ruling military junta of Ethiopia}}
{{other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{native name|am|የኅብረተሰብአዊት ኢትዮጵያ ጊዜያዊ ወታደራዊ መንግሥት|italics=off}}<br />''Ye-Hebratasabʼāwit Ītyōṗṗyā Gizéyāwi Watādarāwi Mangeśt''
| conventional_long_name = Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia
| common_name            = Ethiopia
| era                    = Cold War
| government_type        = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] [[One-party state|one-party]] [[provisional government]] under a [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] [[military junta]]
| event_start            = [[1974 Ethiopian coup d'état|Coup d'état]]
| date_start             = 12 September
| year_start             = 1974
| event1                 = [[Ethiopian Empire#Fall of monarchy|Monarchy abolished]]
| date_event1            = 21 March 1975<ref>"Ethiopia Ends 3,000 Year Monarchy", ''Milwaukee Sentinel'', 22 March 1975, p. 3.; [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19750322&id=S-sgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7XEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2528,3614199 "Ethiopia ends old monarchy", ''The Day'', March 22, 1975, p. 7.]; Henc Van Maarseveen and Ger van der Tang, ''Written Constitutions: A Computerized Comparative Study'' (BRILL, 1978) p. 47.; [https://archive.org/stream/worldfactbook87nati#page/74/mode/2up The World Factbook 1987]; [http://worldstatesmen.org/Ethiopia.html Worldstatesmen.org – Ethiopia]</ref>
| event_end              = [[1987 Constitution of Ethiopia|Constitution adopted]]
| date_end               = 22 February
| year_end               = 1987
| p1                     = Ethiopian Empire
| flag_p1                = Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1936; 1941-1974).svg
| s1                     = People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
| flag_s1                = Flag of Ethiopia (1987–1991).svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Ethiopia (1975–1987).svg
| image_coat             = Emblem of the Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia.svg
| symbol_type            = Emblem
| image_map              = pdr ethiopia.png
| national_anthem        = {{lang|am|ኢትዮጵያ, ኢትዮጵያ, ኢትዮጵያ ቅደሚ}}<br />Ītyoṗya, Ītyoṗya, Ītyoṗya, qidä mī<br />({{Langx|en|"[[Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia be first]]"}})<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia be first (instrumental).ogg]]</div>
| capital                = [[Addis Ababa]]
| title_leader           = [[List of presidents of Ethiopia|Head of state]]
| leader1                = [[Aman Andom]]
| year_leader1           = 1974
| leader2                = [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]]
| year_leader2           = 1974–1974
| leader3                = [[Tafari Benti]]
| year_leader3           = 1974–1977
| legislature            = None ([[rule by decree]])
| area_rank              = 24th
| stat_year1             = 1987<ref name="CIA1987">[https://archive.org/stream/worldfactbook87nati#page/74/mode/2up The World Factbook 1987]</ref>
| stat_area1             = 1221900
| stat_pop1              = 46,706,229
| calling_code           = 251
| currency               = [[Ethiopian birr]] ([[ISO 4217|ETB]])
| today                  = {{plainlist|
*[[Ethiopia]]
*[[Eritrea]] }}
| flag_type              = [[Flag of Ethiopia|Flag]]
| official_languages     = [[Amharic language|Amharic]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.geographic.org/wfb1982/worldfactbook82natiilli.pdf|title=The World Factbook|publisher=[[CIA]]|year=1982|pages=85}}</ref>
| religion               = [[State atheism]]
| demonym                = Ethiopian
| symbol_width           = 100px
| year_leader4           = 1977–1987
| leader4                = Mengistu Haile Mariam
}}
{{History of Ethiopia}}
The '''Derg''' (or '''Dergue'''; {{Langx|am|ደርግ}}, {{Literal translation|committee|council}}), officially the '''Provisional Military Administrative Council''' ('''PMAC'''),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.geographic.org/wfb1982/worldfactbook82natiilli.pdf|title=The World Factbook|publisher=[[CIA]]|year=1982|pages=85}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Temesgen Gebreyehu |title=The Genesis and Evolution of the Ethiopian Revolution and the Derg: A Note on Publications by Participants in Events |journal=History in Africa |date=2010 |volume=37 |pages=321–327 |doi=10.1353/hia.2010.0035 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40864628 |access-date=18 July 2021|jstor=40864628 |s2cid=144500147 }}</ref> was the [[military dictatorship]] that ruled [[Ethiopia]], then including present-day [[Eritrea]], from 1974 to 1987, when the [[military junta]] formally "[[Civil government|civilianized]]" the administration but stayed in power until 1991.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40864628 | jstor=40864628 | title=The Genesis and Evolution of the Ethiopian Revolution and the Derg: A Note on Publications by Participant in Events | last1=Gebeyehu | first1=Temesgen | journal=History in Africa | year=2010 | volume=37 | pages=321–327 | doi=10.1353/hia.2010.0035 | s2cid=144500147 }}</ref>
The Derg was established on 21 June 1974<ref>Saheed A. Adejumobi, ''The History of Ethiopia'' (Greenwood Press, 2006) p.119</ref> as the '''Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police and Territorial Army''', by junior and mid level officers of the [[Army of the Ethiopian Empire|Imperial Ethiopian Army]] and members of the [[Law enforcement in Ethiopia|police]]. The officers decided everything collectively at first, and selected [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] to chair the proceedings. On 12 September 1974, the Derg [[1974 Ethiopian coup d'état|overthrew]] the [[Government of the Ethiopian Empire|government]] of the [[Ethiopian Empire]] and Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] during nationwide mass protests, and three days later formally renamed itself the Provisional Military Administrative Council. In March 1975 the Derg abolished the monarchy and established Ethiopia as a [[Socialism|socialist]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gebeyehu |first=Temesgen |date=2010 |title=The Genesis and Evolution of the Ethiopian Revolution and the Derg: A Note on Publications by Participant in Events |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40864628 |journal=History in Africa |volume=37 |pages=321–327 |jstor=40864628 |issn=0361-5413}}</ref> state under a military-led [[provisional government]]. The abolition of [[feudalism]], increased [[literacy]], [[nationalization]], and sweeping [[land reform]] including the [[Resettlement and villagization in Ethiopia|resettlement and villagization]] from the [[Ethiopian Highlands]] became priorities. Mengistu became chairman in 1977, launching the [[Red Terror (Ethiopia)|Red Terror]] (''Qey Shibir'') political repression campaign to eliminate political opponents, with tens of thousands imprisoned and executed without trial.<ref>de Waal 1991.</ref>
By the mid-1980s, Ethiopia was plagued by multiple issues, such as [[drought]]s, economic decline and increasing reliance on [[foreign aid]], recovering from the [[Ogaden War]], and the [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia|1983–1985 famine]] from which the Derg itself estimated more than a million deaths during its time in power.<ref name="Ethiopia Since Live Aid">{{Cite book|last1=Gill|first1=Peter|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/peter_gill_famine_and_foreigners_ethiopia_sincebook4you.pdf|title=Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-956984-7|pages=43–44|quote=The most eloquent summary of the famine’s impact endorsed de Waal’s conclusion. It came from the very top of Ethiopia’s official relief commission. Dawit Wolde-Giorgis, the commissioner, was an army officer and a member of the politburo. Within two years of witnessing these events, he resigned from his post during an official visit to the United States and wrote an account of his experiences from exile. He revealed that at the end of 1985 the commission had secretly compiled its own famine figures—1.2 million dead, 400,000 refugees outside the country, 2.5 million people internally displaced, and almost 200,000 orphans. ‘But the biggest toll of the famine was psychological,’ Dawit wrote. ‘None of the survivors would ever be the same. The famine left behind a population terrorized by the uncertainties of nature and the ruthlessness of their government.’|access-date=30 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516155623/http://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/peter_gill_famine_and_foreigners_ethiopia_sincebook4you.pdf|archive-date=16 May 2018|url-status=dead|via=South African History Online}}</ref> Conflicts between the Derg and various ethnic militias saw a gradual resurgence, particularly the [[Ethiopian Civil War]] and the [[Eritrean War of Independence]]. Mengistu formally abolished the Derg in 1987 and formed a [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] one party state, the [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia]] led by the [[Workers' Party of Ethiopia]], with a new government containing civilians but still dominated by members of the Derg.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Korn |first1=David A |title=Ethiopia, the United States and the Soviet Union |date=1986 |publisher=Croom Helm |isbn=978-0-7099-3116-4 |page=179 |oclc=1045940956 |language=English}}</ref>
In May 1991, [[Fall of the Derg regime|the Derg regime fell]] to the [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front]], ending the civil war that had been ongoing since 1974 following the toppling of the Ethiopian Empire.
==History==
{{See also|Timeline of the Derg}}
Before the revolution, the [[Ethiopian Student Movement]] presented a threat to the monarchy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lemma |first=Legesse |date=1979 |title=The Ethiopian Student Movement 1960-1974: A Challenge to the Monarchy and Imperialism in Ethiopia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43660011 |journal=Northeast African Studies |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=31–46 |jstor=43660011 |issn=0740-9133}}</ref> Many of their ideals were similar to those of the Derg.
===Formation and growth===
[[File:Derg.gif|thumb|High ranking Derg members: [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]], [[Tafari Benti]] and [[Atnafu Abate]]]]
After the [[Ethiopian Revolution]] in February 1974, the first signal of any mass uprisings was the actions of the soldiers of the 4th Brigade of the 4th Army Division in [[Nagelle]] in southern Ethiopia.<ref>Bahru Zewde, 'The Military and Militarism in Africa: The Case of Ethiopia,' 269-70, citing Hall 1977, 115-119, in Hutchful and Bathily, 'The Military and Militarism in Africa,' CODESRIA, 1998, {{ISBN|2-86978-069-9}}</ref> They were mainly unhappy about the lack of food and water and then arrested their brigade commander and other officers and kept them incarcerated. When the government sent the commander of the [[Ethiopian Ground Forces]], General [[Deresse Dubala]], to negotiate with the rebels, they held him and forced him to eat their food and drink their water. Similar mutinies took place at the [[Ethiopian Air Force]] base at [[Bishoftu]] on 12 February, and at Second Division at Asmara on 25 February. It was these protests that gave rise to the general uprising among the civilian segments such as students and trade unions.
The Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police and Territorial Army, known as the Derg, was officially announced on 28 June 1974 by a group of military officers. This was done under the pretext of maintaining law and order, due to the powerlessness of the civilian government following widespread [[mutiny]] in the armed forces of Ethiopia earlier that year. Its members were not directly involved in those mutinies nor was this the first military committee organized to support the administration of Prime Minister [[Endelkachew Makonnen]]. [[Alem Zewde Tessema]] had established the armed forces coordinated committee on 23 March. Over the following months, radicals in the Ethiopian military came to believe Makonnen was acting on behalf of the hated feudal aristocracy. When a group of notables petitioned for the release of a number of government ministers and officials who were under arrest for corruption and other crimes, three days later the Derg was announced.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ottaway |first1=Marina |last2=Ottaway |first2=David |title=Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution |date=1978 |publisher=Africana |isbn=978-0-8419-0362-3 |page=52 |oclc=464563913}}</ref>
[[File:Ethiopia IMG 4846 Addis Abeba (38824861344).jpg|thumb|Advocacy manifesto of the Derg, published in June 1978]]
The Derg, which originally consisted of soldiers at the capital, broadened its membership by including representatives from the 40 units of the Army, Air Force, [[Ethiopian Navy|Navy]], [[Kebur Zabagna]] (Imperial Guard), [[Territorial Army (Ethiopia)|Territorial Army]] and [[Law enforcement in Ethiopia|police]]: each unit was expected to send three representatives, who were supposed to be privates, NCOs and junior officers up to the rank of major. According to Bahru Zewde, "Senior officers were deemed too compromised by close association to the regime."<ref name=Bahru-234>Bahru Zewde, 2000, p. 234</ref> The Derg was reported to have consisted of 120 soldiers,<ref>See, for example, [[Richard Pankhurst (academic)|Richard Pankhurst]], ''The Ethiopians: A History'' (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), p. 269.</ref> a statement which has gained wide acceptance due to the habitual secretiveness of the Derg in its early years. But, Bahru Zewde notes that "in actual fact, their number was less than 110",<ref name=Bahru-234/> and Aregawi Berhe mentions two different sources which record 109 persons as being members of the Derg.<ref>Aregawi Berhe, ''A Political History of the Tigray People's Liberation Front'' (Los Angeles: Tsehai, 2009), p. 127 and note. The sources he cites are both in Amharic: Zenebe Feleke, ''Neber'' ([[Ethiopian calendar|E.C. 1996]]), and Genet Ayele Anbesie, ''YeLetena Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam Tizitawoch'' (E.C. 1994)</ref> No new members were ever admitted, and the number decreased, especially in the first few years, as some members were expelled or killed.
[[File:Ethiopia IMG 4836 Addis Abeba (39504135432).jpg|thumb|One sketch in the Red Terror Martyrs' Museum showing military convoys of the Derg driving into the gorge]]
The Derg first assembled at the Fourth Division headquarters,<ref>Zewde 1998, 280.</ref> and elected Major [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] as its chairman and Major [[Atnafu Abate]] as vice-chairman. Their stated mission was to study and address the grievances of various military units, investigate abuses by senior officers and staff and root out corruption in the military. In July, the Derg obtained key concessions from emperor, [[Haile Selassie]], which included the power to arrest not only military officers but government officials at every level. Soon both former Prime Ministers [[Aklilu Habte-Wold]] and [[Endelkachew Makonnen]], along with most of their cabinets, most regional governors, many senior military officers and officials of the Imperial court were imprisoned. In August, after a proposed constitution creating a constitutional monarchy was presented to the emperor, the Derg began a program of dismantling the imperial government to forestall further developments in that direction. The Derg [[1974 Ethiopian coup d'état|deposed]] and imprisoned the emperor on 12 September 1974.
On 15 September, the committee renamed itself the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC) and took full control of the government and all facilities within the government. The Derg chose Lieutenant General [[Aman Andom]], a popular military leader and a [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst|Sandhurst]] graduate,<ref name="wrong-2005">{{cite book |title=I didn't do it for you |last=Wrong |first=Michela |year=2005 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=0-06-078092-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ididntdoitforyou00wron/page/244 244] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ididntdoitforyou00wron/page/244 }}</ref> to be its chairman and acting head-of-state. This was pending the return of Crown Prince [[Amha Selassie|Asfaw Wossen]] from medical treatment in Europe when he would assume the throne as a constitutional monarch. However, General Aman Andom quarreled with the radical elements in the Derg over the issue of a new military offensive in [[Eritrea]] and their proposal to execute the high officials of Selassie's former government. After eliminating units loyal to him—the Engineers, the Imperial Bodyguard and the Air Force—the Derg removed General Aman from power and executed him on 23 November 1974, along with some of his supporters and 60 officials of the previous Imperial government.<ref>Bahru Zewde 2001, 237f.</ref>
Brigadier General [[Tafari Benti]] became the new Chairman of the Derg and the head of state, with Mengistu and Atnafu Abate as his two vice-chairmen, both with promotions to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. The monarchy was formally abolished in March 1975, and socialism was proclaimed the new ideology of the state. Emperor Haile Selassie died under mysterious circumstances on 27 August 1975 while his personal physician was absent. It is commonly believed that Mengistu killed him, either by ordering it done or by his own hand although the former is considered more likely.<ref>See, for example, Paul Henze, 2000, p. 332n</ref> Both Derg and Haile Selassie government relocated numerous Amharas into southern Ethiopia, including present-day of the Oromia region, where they served in government administration, courts, church and school, where Oromo texts were eliminated and replaced by Amharic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Country Information Report Ethiopia|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/country-information-report-ethiopia.docx|type=docx|date=12 August 2020|access-date=31 October 2022|publisher=Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}</ref>
===Under Mengistu's leadership===
{{Main|Mengistu Haile Mariam#Leadership of Ethiopia}}
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Mengistu Bundesarchiv 183-1986-0417-012.JPG|thumb|Mengistu in 1986 at SED Party Congress in [[Berlin]]]]
After internal conflicts that resulted in the execution of General Tafari Benti and several of his supporters in February 1977, and the execution of Colonel Atnafu Abate in November 1977, Mengistu gained undisputed leadership of the Derg. In 1987, he formally dissolved the Derg and established the country as the [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia]] (PDRE) under a [[1987 Constitution of Ethiopia|new constitution]].
Many of the Derg members remained in key government posts and also served as the members of the Central Committee and the Politburo of the [[Workers' Party of Ethiopia]] (WPE). This became Ethiopia's civilian version of the Eastern bloc communist parties. Mengistu became Secretary-General of the WPE and President of the PDRE while remaining the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
====Ethiopian Civil War====
{{Main|Ethiopian Civil War}}
[[Image:Derg-badge.png|thumb|Derg party badge, {{Circa|1979}}.]]
[[File:Statue - Tiglachin Monument (1984) (18085457261).jpg|thumb|[[Tiglachin Monument]] commemorating the victory of the Derg over [[Somali Democratic Republic|Somalia]] in the [[Ogaden War]]]]
Opposition to the reign of the Derg was the main cause of the [[Ethiopian Civil War]]. This conflict began as extralegal violence between 1975 and 1977, known as the [[Red Terror (Ethiopia)|Red Terror]], when the Derg struggled for authority, first with various opposition groups within the country, then with a variety of groups jockeying for the role of [[vanguard party]]. Though human rights violations were committed by all sides, the great majority of abuses against civilians as well as actions leading to devastating [[famine]] were committed by the government.<ref>de Waal 1991, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RcVFXUwraxsC iv.]</ref>
The [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]], which represents the Christian [[Christian state|state church]] of Ethiopia for centuries, was disestablished in 1974.<ref name="Desta2020">{{cite web |last1=Desta |first1=Alemayehu |title=Ethiopian Christians Endure Persecution |url=https://providencemag.com/2020/02/ethiopian-christians-endure-persecution/ |work=Providence Magazine |access-date=29 August 2020 |language=en |date=25 February 2020}}</ref> The Derg declared a policy of [[state atheism]], a tenet of [[Marxist-Leninist atheist|Marxist-Leninist]] ideology; this was opposed by the vast majority of the Ethiopian population.<ref name="Bonacci2000">{{cite book |last1=Bonacci |first1=Giulia |title=The Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the State 1974-1991: Analysis of an Ambigious Religious Policy |date=2000 |publisher=Centre of Ethiopian Studies |page=17 |language=en|oclc=45740708}}</ref><ref name="Stremlau2018">{{cite book |last1=Stremlau |first1=Nicole |title=Media, Conflict, and the State in Africa |date=9 August 2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42685-5 |language=en |quote=... atheistic Derg also sought to undermine the Church did not sit well with the devoutly Christian population in the north.}}</ref><ref name="Daniel">{{cite book |last1=Daniel |first1=Seblewengel |title=Perception and Identity: A Study of the Relationship between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Evangelical Churches in Ethiopia |date=14 October 2019 |publisher=Langham Publishing |isbn=978-1-78368-635-3 |language=en |quote=In 1978 the atheist philosophy of the Derg, copied from China, was openly declared but before that time Christianity was systematically condemned through the state-owned media, bringing the initial alleged honeymoon between Christianity and Socialism to a close.}}</ref>
On 4 March 1975, the Derg announced a program of [[Land reform in Ethiopia|land reform]], according to its main slogan of "Land to the Tiller", which was unequivocally radical, even in Soviet and Chinese terms. It nationalized all rural land, abolished tenancy and put peasants in charge of enforcing the whole scheme.<ref>Ottaway 1978, 67.</ref> Many students embraced Mengistu as a 'the hero of the reform'.<ref>Ottaway 1978, 71.</ref> In addition, the Derg in 1975 nationalized most industries and private and somewhat secured urban real-estate holdings. Mismanagement, corruption and general opposition to the Derg's dictatorial and violent communist rule, coupled with the draining effects of constant warfare with the separatist guerrilla movements in Eritrea and Tigray, led to a drastic fall in general productivity of food and cash crops.<ref name=":0" /> Eritreans came under increased oppression and economic disruption at the hands of the regime.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last= |date=1981 |title=Ethiopia: Conquest and Terror |url= |journal=Horn of Africa |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=8–19}}</ref>
During 1976, civilian opposition to the regime was ruthlessly cracked down on following an attempt on Mengistu's life. In some cases entire families were executed based on the accusation of being 'reactionary'.<ref name=":1" /> These grouped ranged from the conservative and pro-monarchy [[Ethiopian Democratic Union]] to the far-leftist [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party]], the  [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front]] (EPLF) [[guerrillas]] fighting for [[Eritrea]]n independence, rebels based in [[Tigray province|Tigray]] (which included the nascent [[Tigray People's Liberation Front]]) and other groups. For some time, the [[Western Somali Liberation Front]] (WSLF), had been conducting guerilla operations in the Ogaden. By June 1977, it had succeeded in forcing the Ethiopian army out of much of the region and into fortified urban centers. During the [[Ogaden War]] that soon followed, Somalia launched a full scale invasion to assist the WSLF.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Urban |first=Mark |date=1983 |title=Soviet intervention and the Ogaden counter-offensive of 1978 |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03071848308523524 |journal=The RUSI Journal |language=en |volume=128 |issue=2 |pages=42–46 |doi=10.1080/03071848308523524 |issn=0307-1847}}</ref> Under the Derg, Ethiopia became the Soviet bloc's closest ally in Africa and became one of the best-armed nations in the region as a result of massive military aid, chiefly from the [[Soviet Union]], [[East Germany]], [[Cuba]] and [[North Korea]].
In October 1978, the Derg announced the National Revolutionary Development Campaign to mobilize human and material resources to transform the economy, which led to a ten-year plan (1984/85 - 1993/94) to expand agricultural and industrial output, forecasting a 6.5% growth in GDP and a 3.6% rise in per capita income. Instead, per capita income declined considerably to 0.8% over this period.<ref name=":0">Bahru Zewde 2001, 262f.</ref>
Many Ethiopians viewed the revolution as a mask to perpetuate [[Amhara people|Amhara]] colonization that began during Emperor [[Menelik II]]. By 1978 the proportion of Amhara officials running the Ethiopian government was higher than it has ever been - even under Menelik and [[Haile Selassie|Selassie]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Greenfield |first1=Richard |last2=Hassan |first2=Mohammed |date=1980 |title=Interpretation of Oromo Nationality |url=https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=P00022029 |journal=Horn of Africa: An Independent Journal |language=en |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=3–14 |quote=However, revolution seems to many to mask the perpetuation of colonization. In 1978 the proportion of Amhara officials mainly Shewans in the government of Ethiopia is higher than it has ever been.}}</ref> By 1980, the original 120 members of the Derg had been whittled down to only 38. All members but three were ethnic [[Amhara people|Amhara]] and were predominantly from settler colonialist ''[[neftenya]]'' origins. Many member of the ruling elite were deeply opposed to the idea of loosening control on the rebellious [[Menelik II's conquests|southern regions conquered under Menelik II]].<ref name=":1" />
====1983–85 famine====
{{Main article|1983–85 famine in Ethiopia}}
Famine scholar [[Alex de Waal]] observed that while the [[1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia|famine]] that struck the country in the mid-1980s is usually ascribed to drought, closer investigation shows that widespread drought occurred only some months after the famine was already underway.<ref>de Waal 1991, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RcVFXUwraxsC/page/n270 4.]</ref> Hundreds of thousands fled economic misery, conscription and political repression and went to live in neighbouring countries and all over the [[Western world]], creating, for the first time, an Ethiopian [[diaspora]].
====Aid and controversy====
{{See also|1983–85 famine in Ethiopia#Effect on aid policy}}
[[File:MASTER SGT. Edward Barnes, loadmaster from the 6th Military Airlift Squadron, directs the loading of one of 11 pallets of supplies onto a waiting truck during Ethiopian relief opera - DPLA - bc5b8b02657a68af0c663e43cc117927.jpeg|thumb|180px|An airlift supplying water truck during the famine in 1985]]
The 1984–1985 [[Tigray Province|Tigray]] famine brought the political situation in Ethiopia to the attention of the world and inspired charitable drives in [[Western nations]], notably by [[Oxfam]] and the [[Live Aid]] concerts of July 1985. The money they raised was distributed among [[NGO]]s working in Ethiopia. A controversy arose when it was found that some of these NGOs were under Derg control or influence and that some Oxfam and Live Aid money had been used to fund Derg's [[Resettlement and villagization in Ethiopia|enforced resettlement programmes]], under which they displaced millions of people and killed between 50,000 and 100,000.<ref name="Guardian 24.06.2005">{{cite news |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/live8/story/0,16066,1513359,00.html |title=Cruel to be kind? |first=David |last=Rieff |date=24 June 2005 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref> A [[BBC]] investigation reported that [[Tigray People's Liberation Front]] rebels had used millions of dollars of aid money to buy arms; these accusations were later fully retracted by the corporation.<ref name="BBC 17.11.2010">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/content/ecu/ecu_bandaidmoneydonatedethiopia |title=ECU Ruling: Claims that aid intended for famine relief in Ethiopia had been diverted to buy arms |author=BBC Complaints |date=17 November 2010 |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 October 2011 |quote=Following a complaint .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. the BBC has investigated these statements and concluded that there was no evidence for them .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. The BBC wishes to apologise unreservedly}}.</ref>
====Dissolution and trials====
{{Main article|Fall of the Derg|Trials of the Derg members}}
[[Image:T-55 Ethiopian Civil War 1991.JPEG|thumb|upright=1|[[T-55]] tanks in the streets of [[Addis Ababa]] after rebels seized the capital]]
[[File:Derg members in court in Addis Ababa, 1994.jpg|thumb|Derg members in court in Addis Ababa, 1994]]
Although the Derg government came to an end on 22 February 1987, three weeks after a [[Ethiopian constitutional referendum, 1987|referendum approved]] the [[1987 Constitution of Ethiopia|constitution for the PDRE]], it was not until September that the new government was fully in place and the Derg formally abolished.<ref>{{Country study|country=Ethiopia|abbr=et|editor=Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry|date=1991|section=The 1987 Constitution|first=Edmond J.|last=Keller}}</ref> The surviving members of the Derg, including Mengistu, remained in power as the leaders of the new civilian regime.
The geopolitical situation became unfavourable for the communist government in the late 1980s, with the Soviet Union retreating from the expansion of Communism under [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s ''[[glasnost]]'' and ''[[perestroika]].'' Socialist bloc countries drastically reduced their aid to Ethiopia and were struggling to keep their own economies going. This resulted in even more economic hardship, and the military gave way in the face of determined onslaughts by guerrilla forces in the north. The Soviet Union stopped aiding the PDRE altogether in December 1990. Together with the fall of Communism in the Eastern Bloc in the [[Revolutions of 1989]], this itself dealt a serious blow to the PDRE.
Towards the end of January 1991, a coalition of rebel forces, the [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front]] (EPRDF) captured [[Gondar]] (the ancient capital city), [[Bahir Dar]] and [[Dessie]]. Meanwhile, the [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front]] had gained control of all of Eritrea except for [[Asmara]] and [[Assab]] in the south. The Soviet Union, mired in its internal turmoil, could no longer prop up the Derg.<ref>Henze 2000, 322.</ref> In the words of the former US diplomat Paul B. Henze, "As his doom became imminent, Mengistu alternated between vowing resistance to the end and hinting that he might follow Emperor [[Tewodros II]]'s example and commit suicide."<ref name="Henze 2000, 327f">Henze 2000, 327f.</ref> His actions were frantic: he convened the [[National Shengo|Shengo]], for an emergency session and reorganized his cabinet, but as Henze concludes, "these shifts came too late to be effective."<ref name="Henze 2000, 327f"/> On 21 May, claiming that he was going to inspect troops at a base in southern Ethiopia, Mengistu slipped out of the country into [[Kenya]]. From there, he flew along with his immediate family to [[Zimbabwe]], where he was granted asylum and where he still resides.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2017-12-11-quest-to-extradite-ethiopias-dictator-mengistu-as-mugabe-departs |title=Quest to extradite Ethiopia's dictator Mengistu as Mugabe departs |work=Deutsche Welle |date=11 December 2017 |access-date=10 June 2019 }}</ref>
Mengistu was sentenced to death in 2008 ''in absentia'', charged with genocide, homicide, illegal imprisonment and property seizures.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-mengistu-idUSL2648747420080526 |title=Ethiopian court hands death sentence to Mengistu |last=Tadesse |first=Tsegaye |website=Reuters |access-date=31 October 2022 |date=26 May 2008 }}</ref> In 2009, Zimbabwe's late former Information Minister, [[Tichaona Jokonya]], in an interview with [[Voice of America]] said Harare was not going to extradite Mengistu.<ref name="Zulu">{{cite web |last=Zulu |first=Blessing |url=https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/6577243.html |title=Zimbabwe Willing to Extradite Mengistu, Vows to Investigate How Late Rwandan Fugitive Mpiranya 'Evaded Capture for Years' |access-date=31 October 2022 |date=17 May 2022 |website=Voice of America Zimbabwe}}</ref>
In August 2018, Ethiopian former Prime Minister [[Hailemariam Desalegn]] while heading an [[African Union]] election observer mission in Harare met with Mengistu, and shared their photo on [[Facebook]], which was quickly deleted as it proved so controversial and generally unpopular. It is thought that Prime Minister [[Abiy Ahmed]], who had at that time released thousands of political prisoners, had approved the visit possibly because some opposition groups had used Mengistu's image to voice their disapproval of Abiy's policies.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-45043811 |title=Why a photo of Mengistu has proved so controversial |work=BBC News |date=2 August 2018 |access-date=31 October 2022}}</ref>
In May 2022, [[Zimbabwe]]'s Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador [[Frederick Shava]] gave a clear sign that Harare would be prepared to extradite Mengistu in a reversal of Jokonya's policy.<ref name="Zulu"/> Given the turmoil in [[Ethiopia]] with the [[Tigray War|Tigray]] conflict, there have been no further apparent developments.
Upon entering Addis Ababa, the EPRDF immediately disbanded the WPE and arrested almost all of the prominent Derg officials shortly after. In December 2006, seventy-three officials of the Derg were found guilty of genocide. Thirty-four people were in court, fourteen others had died during the lengthy process, and twenty-five, including Mengistu, were tried ''in absentia''.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6251095.stm Mengistu is handed life sentence], ''BBC News'', 11 January 2007</ref> The trial ended 26 May 2008, and many of the officials were sentenced to death. In December 2010, the Ethiopian government commuted the death sentence of 23 Derg officials. On 4 October 2011, 16 former Derg officials were freed after twenty years of incarceration. The Ethiopian government paroled almost all of the Derg officials who had been imprisoned for 20 years. Other Derg ex-officials managed to escape and organized rebel groups to overthrow Ethiopia's new government. One of these groups is the [[Ethiopian Unity Patriots Front]] which waged an insurgency in the [[Gambela Region]] from 1993 to 2012.{{sfnp|Gagnon|Clough|Ross|2005|pp=8–9}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article31607 |title=Ethiopian rebels leave South Sudan as peace initiative fails |work=Sudan Tribune |date=23 June 2009 |access-date=22 March 2019 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402175159/http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article31607 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://nyamile.co/2014/10/25/ethiopian-rebels-deny-taking-side-in-south-sudan/ |title=Ethiopian Rebels Deny Taking Side in South Sudan Conflict! |work=Nyamile |date=25 October 2014 |access-date=25 January 2019 }}</ref>
At the conclusion of a trial lasting from 1994 to 2006, Mengistu was convicted of [[genocide]], [[war crimes]] and [[crimes against humanity]] and sentenced ''in absentia'' to death by an Ethiopian court for his role in Ethiopia's [[Red Terror (Ethiopia)|Red Terror]].<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/1999/11/24/ethiopian-dictator-mengistu-haile-mariam "Ethiopian Dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam"]. Human Rights Watch. 24 November 1999. Retrieved 17 November 2020.</ref><ref>Tadesse, Tsegaye (2006). [https://www.redorbit.com/news/international/512182/verdict_due_for_ethiopias_exdictator_mengistu/ "Verdict due for Ethiopia's ex-dictator Mengistu"]. Reuters. Retrieved 17 November 2020.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6171429.stm "Mengistu found guilty of genocide"]. BBC News. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2020.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7420212.stm "Court Sentences Mengistu to Death"]. BBC News. 26 May 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2020.</ref> The Ethiopian legal definition is distinct from the legal definition as outlined in the [[Genocide Convention]] by the [[United Nations]] and other definitions in that it defines genocide as intent to wipe out political and not just ethnic groups. In this respect, it closely resembles the definition of [[politicide]] outlined by [[Barbara Harff]], who wrote in 1992 that no Communist country or governing body had been convicted of genocide.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harff |first=Barbara |chapter=Recognizing Genocides and Politicides |editor-last=Fein |editor-first=Helen |title=Genocide Watch |date=1992 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-04801-8 |volume=27 |pages=37–38 |doi=10.2307/J.CTT1XP3T17.6 |s2cid=150924767}}</ref>
==Military==
[[File:Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces (Derg) in 1974.jpg|thumb|The Derg as Coordinated Committee of the Armed Forces during the [[Ethiopian Revolution]] in 1974]]
The Derg army had significant role in the [[Government of the Derg|government]] and enforcing law since the establishment. By 1976, the Soviet and Derg relations strengthened with the Soviet aided the Derg military with arms. Together with the Cuban soldiers, the military gained support against [[Somali Democratic Republic]] during the [[Ogaden War]]. According to the [[United States State Department]] report in May 1977, 50 Cuban advisors trained Ethiopian troops to combat, while another report in July stated that 3,000 Cubans were in Ethiopia with one [[Eritrean Liberation Front]] officer there.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Papp |first=Daniel S. |date=1979 |title=The Soviet Union and Cuba in Ethiopia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45314670 |journal=Current History |volume=76 |issue=445 |pages=110–130 |doi=10.1525/curh.1979.76.445.110 |jstor=45314670 |s2cid=140898914 |issn=0011-3530}}</ref>
Under the Derg, the Ethiopian military was dominated by the [[Amhara people|Amhara]] ethnic group. Similar to the period of the Ethiopian Empire under [[Menelik II]] and [[Haile Selassie]], over 80% of [[General officer|generals]] and over 65% of [[Colonel|colonels]] in the armed forces were Amhara's.{{Sfn|Tareke|2009|p=123|ps=}} While the Amhara constituted the majority of the [[Officer (armed forces)|officer corps]], the army was still ethnically heterogeneous.{{Sfn|Tareke|2009|p=162}}
By 1980, the Derg was estimated to have an excess of 250,000 troops. This was estimated to have cost between 50 and 70 percent of the Ethiopian national budget since 1978.<ref name=":1" /> After the regimes fall in 1991, the army of the Derg were only 45,000 troops which disintegrated shortly afterwards.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 October 2022 |title=Armed Decision: the North, 1988-91 |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/d5hausie.pdf |website=Human Rights Watch |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601123958/https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/d5hausie.pdf |archive-date= Jun 1, 2023 }}</ref>
== Organization ==
=== Chairmen ===
* [[Aman Andom|Aman Mikael Andom]] (15 September 1974 – 17 November 1974)
* [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] (17 November 1974 – 28 November 1974) (1st term)
* [[Tafari Benti]] (28 November 1974 – 3 February 1977)
* [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] (3 February 1977 – 10 September 1987) (2nd term, acting to 11 February 1977)
=== PMAC Standing Committee (January 1985) ===
; Chairman
: [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]]
; Secretary-General
: Lt.-Col. [[Fikre Selassie Wogderess]]
; Deputy Secretary-General
: Col [[Fisseha Desta]]
; Military Affairs
: Lt.-Gen. [[Tesfaye Gebre Kidan]]
; Security
: [[Tekla Tulu]]
; Development and Planning
: [[Addis Tedla]]
; Party Organization
: [[Legesse Asfaw]]
; Administrative and Legal Affairs
: [[Wubshet Dessie]]
; Other members
: [[Genesse Wolde-Kidan]]
: [[Endale Tessema]]
: [[Kassahun Tafesse]]
: [[Birhanu Bayeh]]
==See also==
{{Portal|Africa|Communism}}
* [[History of Ethiopia]]
* [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia]]
* [[Marxism–Leninism]]
* [[Stalinism]]
* [[Vice President of Ethiopia]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}
==References==
* Bahru Zewde. 2001. ''A History of Modern Ethiopia'' (second edition). London: James Currey.
* {{Cite book |last=Tareke |first=Gebru |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRIfYPTZxJsC |title=The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=9780300156157}}
* Henze, Paul. 2000. ''Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia''. New York: Palgrave. {{ISBN|0-312-22719-1}}
* Ottway, Marina & David. 1978. ''Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution''. New York: Africana
* {{cite book |last=de Waal |first=Alex |year=1991 |title=Evil Days: Thirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia |location=New York & London |publisher=Human Rights Watch |isbn=1-56432-038-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RcVFXUwraxsC}}
* {{cite book |last=de Waal |first=Alex |year=2002 |orig-year=1997 |title=Famine Crimes: Politics & the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa |location=Oxford |publisher=James Currey |isbn=0-85255-810-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwZ1Xb-w45oC}}
*{{Cite journal
|title = Targeting the Anuak: Human Rights Violations and Crimes Against Humanity in Ethiopia's Gambella Region
|url= https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/381E3B78857A8B5949256FCF000B0715-hrw-est-24mar.pdf
|editor-last1= Gagnon
|editor-first1= Georgette
|editor-last2= Clough
|editor-first2= Michael
|editor-last3= Ross
|editor-first3= James
|date = March 2005
|journal = Human Rights Watch
|issue = 3 (A)
|volume = 17
}}
==External links==
*[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ettoc.html ETHIOPIA – A Country Study] ''(at the [[Library of Congress]])''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050827070958/http://www.ethiopiantreasures.toucansurf.com/pages/dergue.htm The Ethiopian Revolution, The Dergue, Civil War and Famine], Ethiopian Treasures
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6171429.stm  "Mengistu found guilty of genocide", BBC News]
{{Ethiopia topics}}
{{Years in Ethiopia}}
{{Socialist states}}
{{Eastern Bloc parties}}
[[Category:Derg]]
[[Category:Communism in Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Communism in Eritrea]]
[[Category:Factions of the Ethiopian Civil War]]
[[Category:History of the government of Ethiopia]]
[[Category:History of Ethiopia (1974–present)|.1974–1987]]
[[Category:20th century in Eritrea]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Military dictatorships]]
[[Category:Communist states]]
[[Category:Atheist states]]
[[Category:1987 disestablishments in Africa]]
[[Category:1980s disestablishments in Ethiopia]]
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