Bulcha Demeksa (born 1930) is an outspoken Ethiopian politician and businessman. He is the founder of the

Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement om, Warraaqsa Federaalistii Uummata Oromoo, OFDM) was a political party in Ethiopia, created in 2005 by Bulcha Demeksa to further the interests of the Oromo people as an alternative to the armed Oromo ...

(OFDM), one of

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 ...

's largest opposition parties.

Career

In 1967, Bulcha was appointed vice-minister of

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

before representing his country at the board of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. In 1974, when the Ethiopian Revolution started, he left Ethiopia and was hired by the UN administration. Bulcha took his retirement in Ethiopia in 1991, and in 1994, he created the Awash International Bank which became a success. In early 2005, Bulcha founded the

(OFDM), which he saw as a non-military, democratic political party as an alternative to the armed

Oromo Liberation Front The Oromo Liberation Front ( om, Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo, abbreviated: ABO; English abbreviation: OLF) is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and ...

. Bulcha Demeksa has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the late

Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Asres (Tigrinya and ; , born Legesse Zenawi Asres; 9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012) was an Ethiopian soldier and politician who served as President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and then Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his ...

's government and the opposition leader most referred by the international media. With other opposition officials, he helped the creation of

Medrek Medrek ( am, መድረክ), officially the Ethiopia Federal Democratic Unity Forum ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ አንድነት መድረክ), is an Ethiopian political coalition founded in 2008 by former def ...

, a larger opposition alliance. Bulcha resigned as OFDM party chairman in late 2010 but continues as an adviser for the leadership. His retirement from OFDM and his harsh criticism of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and on the 2010 elections were a regular feature story on dozens of private

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 ...

and English newspapers in the country. In 2019 he announced his intention to run in the 2020 elections.

Awards

At the end of 2008, Bulcha 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 peace activist between different warring sections of the Ethiopian society.Bulcha Person of the Year

References

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