Fikre Selassie Wogderess ( gez, ፍቅረ ሥላሴ ወግደረስ; 13 July 1945 – 12 December 2020) was an Ethiopian politician who was the first Prime Minister of the

People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) () was a socialist state that existed in Ethiopia and present day Eritrea from 1987 to 1991. The PDRE was established in February 1987 as a Marxist-Leninist one-party state upon the adoption o ...

(PDRE) from 10 September 1987 to 8 November 1989.

Biography

Fikre was one of the more obscure members of the

Derg The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...

until the coup of 3 February 1977, in which Secretary-General

Tafari Benti Brigadier General Tafari Benti (; 11 October 1921 – 3 February 1977) was an Ethiopian military officer and politician who served as head of state of Ethiopia from 1974 to 1977 in his role as second chairman of the Derg, the ruling military ju ...

was killed along with seven other Derg members. The coup elevated him (Bahru Zewde notes "according to some sources from near execution by reason of mistaken identity!") to Secretary-General, in which post he would occasionally dispel "the atmosphere of total sycophancy" with his "fractionally independent disposition." Fikre became the first Prime Minister of the newly-formed Communist state that replaced the Derg in 1987. He made a trip to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

in November 1988 to seek improved relations with

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, and to express support for Egypt's offer to negotiate a settlement of the Eritrean conflict. In November 1989, President

Mengistu Haile Mariam Mengistu Haile Mariam ( am, መንግሥቱ ኀይለ ማሪያም, pronunciation: ; born 21 May 1937) is an Ethiopian politician and former army officer who was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991 and General Secretary of the Work ...

ordered him removed from his post, having criticized him three days prior in a meeting of the Politburo of the Workers Party of Ethiopia, stating "there is no one quite like Fikre Selassie, who sits idly and quietly. One time, he sat here reading a magazine.... He is not antirevolutionary or a criminal, nor is he conspiratorial.... But he is unstable and even rude.... He is being expelled for disciplinary reasons also." Following the conclusion of 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 ...

and the end of the PDRE, Fikre was one of 46 former leaders of the PDRE who were tried in person beginning 19 April 1996 for murdering individuals, genocide, and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

by the

Federal Democratic Republic 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 ...

; 22 more individuals, including the exiled Mengistu, were charged ''in absentia'' at the same trial. The trial ended on 26 May 2008, and Fikre Selassie Wogderess was sentenced to death. In December 2010, the Ethiopian government commuted the death sentence of Fikre Selassie and other 23 Derg officials. On October 4, 2011, Fikre Selassie was freed along with other 16 of his former colleagues, after twenty years of incarceration. The Ethiopian government paroled almost all of those Derg officials who had been jailed for 20 years.

Death

Fikre Selassie Wogderess died on 12 December 2020 after receiving medical treatment for

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and kidney complications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wogderess, Fikre Selassie category:1945 births 2020 deaths Prime Ministers of Ethiopia Workers' Party of Ethiopia politicians Ethiopian people convicted of murder Ethiopian people convicted of crimes against humanity Ethiopian people convicted of genocide People convicted of murder by Ethiopia Ethiopian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Ethiopia Ethiopian politicians convicted of crimes Deaths from diabetes 20th-century Ethiopian politicians