Assefa Gebre-Mariam Tessema (also spelt Gebremariam, Tesema; born 1936) is an Ethiopian poet and academic. He wrote the national anthem of Ethiopia from 1975 to 1992,
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia be first
( am, ኢትዮጵያ ኢትዮጵያ ኢትዮጵያ ቅደሚ, "Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia be first") was the national anthem of Ethiopia from 1975 to 1992, during the Derg military junta of Mengistu Haile Mariam. The anthem was first perfor ...
.
, he was working as a teacher in
Kaffa Province
Kaffa ( Amharic: ከፋ) was a province on the southwestern side of Ethiopia; its capital city was Bonga. It was named after the former Kingdom of Kaffa or "Kefa".
Kaffa was bordered on the west by Sudan, on the northwest by Illubabor, on the ...
.
Biography
Assefa studied philosophy and literature at the
University of Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, ...
. He taught
Amharic
Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
language and literature at
Leningrad University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
for four years before continuing his education in
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. He was a founder of the Ethiopian Writers' Association and has served as its secretary general since 1978.
In 1986, Assefa was serving as the director of the
Academy of Ethiopian Languages in Addis Ababa. In 1996, he was part of a panel that worked on an Amharic science and technology dictionary published by the academy. Together with two mathematicians, Tessema served as the linguist for the mathematics terminology.
On 8 September 2007, Assefa, who was based in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Nevada, at the time, gave a talk at
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
, Washington D.C., on Ethiopian history, language and culture in the past millennium. In October 2009, Assefa helped organise a birthday anniversary memorial service at the university for Ethiopian poet and politician
Haddis Alemayehu, who had died in 2003.
Bibliography
* ''Hope''
* ''The Rays of September'' (1979)
* ''The Voice'' (1980)
See also
*
Daniel Yohannes Haggos
Daniel Yohannes Haggos (born 1950) is an Ethiopian-German musician and academic. He composed the national anthem of Ethiopia from 1975 to 1992, Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia be first.
Biography
Following the 3 February 1977 execution of Derg ...
, the composer of the national anthem of Ethiopia from 1975 to 1992
References
Ethiopian poets
{{Ethiopia-writer-stub