Monday, August 13, 2012

In Ethiopia, Post-Zenawi Void Could Create Opening for Reform

(Aug 14, 2012, WPR)--For 20 years, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been the undisputed ruler of Ethiopia. Zenawi was the leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which in concert with its sister rebel group from Eritrea toppled the Moscow-aligned dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. 

He led his country in the 1998-2000 war against his former Eritrean allies and oversaw multiple Ethiopian military interventions into neighboring Somalia. An active and outspoken leader, Zenawi is also credited with a pragmatic approach to economic development despite his Marxist roots, resulting in an average of 9 percent GDP growth over the past 10 years.

Now the strong man of the Horn of Africa has disappeared -- literally: For almost two months, Zenawi has not appeared in public. Nor has he given any interviews and or any other indication that he is still alive, despite a high-profile summit of the African Union currently taking place in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Read more from World Politics Review »

Related topics: 
Mystery of Ethiopia's missing prime minister (By Daniel Howden)  
Meles Zenawi will be in office before Ethiopian New Year
Ethiopia after Meles (by René Lefort)
Ethiopians contemplate a nation without Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
Is Ethiopia's PM sick, dead, or just on holiday? (By Adrienne Klasa )
“Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in stable condition -The issue of stepping down has not been raised,” ...
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia Prime Minister, Health Questions Raised During Absence  

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