Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi Asres; 9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012, born Legesse Zenawi Asres) was the Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his death in 2012. From 1989, he was the chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front, and the head of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Frontsince its formation in 1991. Before becoming a prime minister in 1995, he had served the president of the transitional government of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995...
NationalityEthiopian
ProfessionWorld Leader
Date of Birth8 May 1955
CityAdwa, Ethiopia
CountryEthiopia
After Nigeria, we are the second biggest black African nation. We are the headquarters of the African Union. We are the only African country that has never been colonized. This is perhaps the last surviving African civilization.
An oversupply of national sentiment is not the problem in Somalia. The problem is a lack of it. The problem is an oversupply of sub-sub-clannish attitude.
I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia. Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell the story.
We regret the death but it was not a normal demonstration,
We shall negotiate while we fight and we shall fight while we negotiate,
We shall negotiate while fighting. We shall fight while negotiating, ... Whichever road leads to peace quickly will be the road we follow.
Over the years, I've come to recognize that democratization in Ethiopia is not just a matter of choice. It's a matter of national survival. I am deeply convinced that we either democratize and have a good chance of surviving, or if we fail to do so, we disintegrate.
Out of 60 CUD control committee members, the government decided to arrest only 25 suspected of being involved in violence,
We have our own script. We have our own calendar. We represent the greatness of Africa's past. We also represent the worst of Africa's present, in terms of poverty. It is the best and the worst of African reality.
What we have is a pattern of prevarication, a pattern of trying to draw out the process and consolidate the hold on our territory, ... If that's the case -- and it appears to be the case -- then the opportunities for resolving this problem peacefully could be fast disappearing.
What we have detained is people who have tried to overthrow the duly constituted government, and that in my view is treason under the laws of the country,
We have taken measures and beefed up our defense capabilities around the border since December to prevent any miscalculation by the other side,
The EU report speaks for itself. The statement in my view shows that the mission has turned out to be something worse than a farce, ... We shall in the coming days and weeks see what we can do to expose the pack of lies and innuendoes that characterise the garbage in this report.
As a person, I have never been discourteous or nasty to anybody. I may have stood my ground a bit too directly, a bit too firmly, and I believe I have, over a number of years, learned to be a little less direct.