Getachew Assefa (

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literatur ...

: ጌታቸው አሰፋ) is an Ethiopian politician and senior member of the

Tigray People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ti, ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, lit=Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray), also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist paramilitar ...

(TPLF). He had served as the Director General of the

National Intelligence and Security Service The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) () is an intelligence agency of the Ethiopian federal government tasked with gathering information of national interests. It does counter-terrorism in the country by informing the federal p ...

(NISS) from 2001 until Prime Minister

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali ( om, Abiyi Ahmed Alii; am, አብይ አሕመድ ዐሊ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who has been the 4th prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia since 2 April 2018. He won the 2019 ...

came to power in 2018. During the

Tigray War The Tigray War; ; . was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray Peop ...

, Getachew has been subject of one of TPLF's fugitives by the

Ethiopian government The government of Ethiopia () is the federal government of Ethiopia. It is structured in a framework of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. T ...

. Reports claim that he fled to

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

to seek asylum and he was sanctioned by the

US government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

for his alleged

human rights violations Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

in the war.

Early life and career

Getachew Assefa was born in late 1940s in

Mekelle Mekelle ( ti, መቐለ, am, መቀሌ, mäqälle, mek’elē) or Mekele is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray. It is located around north of the Ethiopi ...

Tigray Province Tigray Province ( Amharic and ), also known as Tigre ( tigrē), was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed the present day Afar and Tigray regions. Akele Guzai borders with the Tigray province It was one It encompassed most ...

. In 1983, he joined the

(TPLF), who was fighting against the Derg regime. After the downfall of the Derg in 1991, he became a senior member of the

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front 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 ...

(EPRDF). Getachew is a member of TPLF. He was wanted by the

under

and accused of crime against humanity, corruption and treason. During the

, he was hiding to the Ethiopian federal forces in the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray ...

and secretly commands the TDF forces.

Director General of NISS

In 2001, Getachew was appointed as Director General of the

(NISS) by Prime Minister

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 ...

. He then became the Chief advisor of Meles. During the office, Getachew intervened to

War in Somalia War in Somalia can refer to: *Somali Civil War (1991–present) :*War in Somalia (1992–1993) U.N. Unified Task Force :*Somalia War (2006–2009), Ethiopian intervention :*Somali Civil War (2009–present) {{Dab ...

in 2006 and Ethiopian–Eritrean border conflict. He served the NISS until 2018. After Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April 2018, Getachew was opposed to Abiy's earlier reforms and policies and continued supporting the TPLF. In June 2018, he was removed from the office.

Tigray War

Upon the federal government issued arrest warrant to TPLF's senior officials amidst the

in 2020, Getachew was one of the most wanted TPLF figure whom the government would endow 10 million birr for his capture. The government accused him of committing extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention and surveillance of dissents and journalists. He was also sanctioned by the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

for his alleged human rights plot in the war. In the course of war, reports claimed that Getachew fled to

in order to seek asylum or support from foreign allies.

Personal life

Getachew is married to Selamawit Gebremeskel, a former judge and Committee member of TPLF. Together have three children named Yared Getachew, who was a copilot who died in 2019 Ethiopian Airlines accident, Nahom Getachew, a student of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and Ruth Getachew, a lawyer and human rights activist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assefa, Getachew Ethiopian government officials Ethiopian politicians 21st-century Ethiopian politicians People from Tigray Region Tigray People's Liberation Front politicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people)