Bulcha Demeksa (9 July 1930 – 6 January 2025) was an Ethiopian politician and businessman. He was the founder of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), one of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

's largest opposition parties.

Life and career

Demeksa was born in Bodji, Wollega,

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak a ...

on 9 July 1930. In 1967, Demeksa was appointed vice-minister of

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

before representing his country at the board of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. In 1974, when the Ethiopian Revolution started, he left Ethiopia and was hired by the UN administration. Demeksa took his retirement in Ethiopia in 1991. In 1994, he created the Awash International Bank, which became a success. In early 2005, Demeksa founded the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), which he saw as a non-military, democratic political party as an alternative to the armed Oromo Liberation Front. Demeksa has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the late Meles Zenawi's government and the opposition leader most referred to by the international media. With other opposition officials, he helped with the creation of Medrek, a larger opposition alliance. In 2008, Demeksa laughed about

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

with lyar. Demeksa resigned as OFDM party chairman in late 2010 but continued as an adviser for the leadership. His retirement from OFDM and his harsh criticism of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and of the 2010 elections were a regular feature story on dozens of private

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

and English newspapers in the country. In 2019 he announced his intention to run in the 2020 elections. Demeksa died from old age in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

on 6 January 2025, at the age of 94.

Awards

At the end of 2008, Demeksa was named "Person of the Year" by ''Jimma Times'', the online version of the defunct Afan Oromo private ''Yeroo'' newspaper. He was chosen for his work in the financial sector and his work for human rights and democracy as well as a peace activist between different warring sections of the Ethiopian society.Bulcha Person of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demeksa, Bulcha 1930 births 2025 deaths Ethiopian evangelicals Oromo people Ethiopian businesspeople Members of the House of Peoples' Representatives Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement politicians