(Aug 31, 2012, iOL)--Ethiopia will bury its longtime powerful prime
minister Meles Zenawi on Sunday in the first state funeral staged for a
leader of the Horn of Africa nation in more than 80 years.
Several African leaders are
expected to attend the funeral to pay tribute to Meles, a heavyweight in
regional politics since he took power in 1991 after toppling dictator
Mengistu Hailemariam. They will include neighbouring
Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh, Kenya's Mwai Kibaki and South
Sudan's Salva Kiir, as well as Rwandan President Paul Kagame and
Uganda's Yoweri Museveni.
China, the European Union and the United States are also expected to send senior officials.
The funeral will begin in Addis
Ababa's vast Meskel Square, before heading to the National Palace, where
Meles' flag-draped coffin has been on display since it was flown home
after his death in a Brussels hospital on August 20. While Ethiopia has hosted a series of state
funerals in recent decades - including that of popular musician Tilahun
Gessesse in 2009 - the last leader to be so honoured was Empress Zawditu
in 1930. The country's last emperor, Haile
Selassie, was murdered in 1975 by coup leaders, who later buried him
under a toilet in the National Palace.
The body of the deposed emperor -
regarded as god by Rastafarians - was later exhumed and a funeral held
for him in 2000, although officials did not declare it a state funeral. His body is buried inside Holy
Trinity Church in Addis Ababa, where Meles too will be laid to rest,
located behind the National Palace. Read more from iOL »
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Related topics:
Thousands Attend Ethiopian Church Leader's Funeral
Azeb Mesfin, Ethiopian first lady, grieving the death of PM Meles Zenawi
Addis Ababa Edirs Erect Mourning Tent for the death of Meles Zenawi
Ethiopian Artists on the Death of PM Meles Zenawi
Statement from Ethiopia's acting Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn
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