Alemu Abebe is an Ethiopian politician. He served as mayor of

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 ...

during the years of Red Terror.Clapham Christopher.
Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p; 224

Student leader

Alemu, a student of veterinary medicine in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, emerged as a veteran leader of the Ethiopian student movement. He had arrived for studies in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. Alemu was active in the Ethiopian Students Union in Europe. In September 1970 he organized a meeting of six Ethiopian students in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

to form a political organization.Kiflu Tadesse.
The Generation: The History of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party
'. Silver Spring, MD: Distributed by K & S Distributors, 1993. pp. 41, 93 He would become a leader of the All-Ethiopian Socialist Movement (Meison). When the POMOA was formed in 1975, Alemu was included in its leading committee.Tiruneh, Andargachew.
The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian
'. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. pp. 158-159

Mayor of Addis Ababa

Alemu Abebe was amongst the second-rank Meison leaders that left the party following the break between the party and the Derg military junta. He continued to work with the Derg, and would later become mayor of Addis Ababa and a member of the politburo of the Workers Party of Ethiopia.Clapham Christopher.
Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. pp. 67-68 Alemu was sworn in as mayor of the capital on December 8, 1977. The official press agency labelled him 'the first democratically elected mayor' of Addis Abeba. He and the city council had been elected by the ''

kebele A ward ( am, ቀበሌ; om, Araddaa; ) is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia: a ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a district, itself usually part of a zone, which in turn are grouped into ...

s'' of the city and approved by the government. The election of Alemu followed the assassination of the mayor-elect Gutta Sernessa.Reuters.
ETHIOPIA: FIRST DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED MAYOR AND COUNCIL TAKE OFFICE IN ADDIS ABABA
'', 11 December 1977 As the new mayor of Addis Abeba, Alemu defended the 'Red Terror' campaign against the

EPRP The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝባዊ አብዮታዊ ፓርቲ, Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Həzbāwī Abyotawi Party), informally known as Ihapa, is the first modern political party in Ethiopia, esta ...

in a meeting with foreign journalists in February 1978. However, he claimed that the numbers of killed in the campaign was lower than reported in international media.

Gang of Four

When the Commission for Organizing the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia was founded in 1979, as a forerunner to the Workers Party, Alemu Abebe formed part of the informal grouping in the party leadership called the 'Gang of Four'. The 'Gang of Four' consisted of prominent civilian ideologues in the party hierarchy, in-charge of running the day-to-day affairs of COPWE.Clapham Christopher.
Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 71Keller, Edmond J.
Revolutionary Ethiopia: From Empire to People's Republic
'. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991. p. 237-238Tiruneh, Andargachew.
The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian
'. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 258 When the Workers Party of Ethiopia was formed, Alemu was put at the helm of the Central Control Commission of the party.Clapham Christopher.
Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 83

Later political career

Alemu served as mayor of the capital until 1985. Alemu Abebe would also come to occupy the post of Deputy Prime Minister, responsible for agriculture, of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. In April 1991, as the Derg rule of Ethiopia crumbled, Colonel Mengistu announced in a radio speech that Alemu Abebe had been given the task of forming a new political party, the Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party. The new party was supposed to be more broadly inclusive and replace the Workers Party.

Arrest and imprisonment

Alemu Abebe surrendered to the

EPRDF The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; am, የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር, translit=Ye’Ītiyop’iya Ḥizibochi Ābiyotawī Dīmokirasīyawī Ginibari) was an eth ...

forces on June 1, 1991. On August 10, 2005 Alemu Abebe was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for his role in the Derg rule.Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia;
Court sentences Former Regime's Security Chief to death ( August 11 ,2005)
'

References