Ambachew Mekonnen ( gez, አምባቸው መኮንን; – 22 June 2019) was an Ethiopian politician and economist who served as the president of the

Amhara Region The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Reg ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

from March to June 2019, when he was assassinated in a coup attempt.

Life

Ambachew Mekonnen was born in Aketo, Gayint, South Gondar, to a family of farmers. His secondary education was interrupted due to the

Ethiopian Civil War The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991. The Derg overthre ...

, when his school was closed, and he joined the

Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement The Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) ( am, አማራ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ), originally known as Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), was a political party in Ethiopia. The party was one of four members of the Ethiopian People's R ...

(EPDM, later ANDM) as a guerrilla in 1990. He completed his secondary studies via

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

and was appointed an administrator in

Abichuna Gne'a Abichuna Gne'a ("Aanaa Abichuu") is a woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. This woreda is named in part for the Abichu Oromo. Part of the Kaba Shewa Zone, Abichu woreda is bordered on the south by Kembibit, on the west by Wuchalena Jido, and on the ...

and Sheno in North Shewa. He went on to receive a BA in economics from the

Ethiopian Civil Service University The Ethiopian Civil Service University (ECSU) is a public university in Ethiopia. Its purpose is capacity building in the public sector. It is located in the capital city of Addis Ababa and was founded in 1993. Notable alumni * Alemayehu Atomsa ...

, an

MPP MPP or M.P.P. may refer to: * Marginal physical product * Master of Public Policy, an academic degree * Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), Canada * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape), South Africa * ''Merriweather Post Pavilion ...

from the

Korea Development Institute The Korea Development Institute (KDI) is a Korean government agency established in 1971 to conduct policy research. KDI has conducted research on a broad range of economic and social issues, including macroeconomics policy, fiscal policy, and lab ...

, and an MSc in international finance and economic development and a PhD in Economics from the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

, writing his dissertation on "Economic growth, trade and investment in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

: nexus and determinants”. Before his appointment as president of the

, he served in various roles, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ethiopia. He also served as an infrastructure adviser in the Prime Minister's office prior to his selection as regional President on 6 March 2019, replacing

Gedu Andargachew Gedu Andargachew () is an Ethiopian politician who currently is the National Security Affairs Advisor to the prime minister of Ethiopia since 4 November 2020. He served as president of the Amhara Region from 2013 to 2019 and served as deputy pres ...

. Ambachew was killed on 22 June 2019 in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, by a supposed hit squad during a coup attempt in the Amhara region. He was killed along with his adviser.

References

1970s births 2019 deaths Presidents of Amhara Region Government ministers of Ethiopia Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front politicians People killed in the Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present) Assassinated Ethiopian politicians 2019 murders in Ethiopia Alumni of the University of Kent 21st-century Ethiopian politicians {{Ethiopia-politician-stub