Girma Wolde-Giorgis (; 28 December 1924 – 15 December 2018) was an Ethiopian politician who was the

president of Ethiopia The President of Ethiopia is the head of state of Ethiopia. The position is largely ceremonial with executive power vested in the Council of Ministers chaired by The Prime Minister. The current president is Sahle-Work Zewde, who took office on 2 ...

from 2001 to 2013. He was the second person to hold the office of president since the founding of 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 ...

in 1995.

Early life

Girma was born on 28 December 1924 in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. He first attended an

Ethiopian Orthodox Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

school and later joined the Teferi Mekonnen School in Addis Ababa where he followed his education until the Italian invasion. The school was then renamed Scuola Principe di Piemonte (Prince of Piedmonte School) for the Crown Prince of Italy. Between 1950 and 1952, he received certificates in

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

(from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

), in

air traffic management 334x334px, Air traffic management (ATM) is an aviation term encompassing all systems that assist aircraft to depart from an aerodrome, transit airspace, and land at a destination aerodrome, consisting of air traffic services (ATS) including air tr ...

(in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

) and

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

(in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

) under a training programme sponsored by the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...

(

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

). He was one of the first Ethiopians in the

Ethiopian Air Force The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during natio ...

, which had been dominated by American technicians. Girma tried to motivate Ethiopians to join the airlines and wrote a book on fundamentals. He was an activist and at the Inter Parliamentary Summit in Yugoslavia, he condemned the apartheid system in South Africa. Girma spoke

Afan Oromo Oromo ( or ; Oromo: ''Afaan Oromoo''), in the linguistic literature of the early 20th century also called Galla (a name with a pejorative meaning and therefore rejected by the Oromo people), is an Afroasiatic language that belongs to the Cushiti ...

(Oromiffa),

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 fluently.

Political career

Girma was elected president on 8 October 2001, as a relatively unknown and a surprising choice, by a

unanimous Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...

vote of the

Ethiopian Parliament The Federal Parliamentary Assembly ( am, የፌዴራል ፓርላማ ምክር ቤት, Ye-Fēdēralawī Parilama Mikir Bēt) is Ethiopia's federal legislature. It consists of two chambers: *The House of Federation (upper chamber) *The House ...

. The Ethiopian presidency is largely a symbolic office with little power. Most of the power is vested in the hands of the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. Presidents serve two six-year terms. He was re-elected as president on 9 October 2007.

Personal life

Girma was from the Oromo ethnic group. He was married and had five children. He was a member of the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

. He was widely renowned for his usual presence at Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Meskel Demera Festivals. Girma died of natural causes on 15 December 2018, 13 days before his 94th birthday.

Government service

* 1941: Enlisted at the Ethiopian Military Radio Communication set up by the United Kingdom * 1944: Graduated from the Holetta Military Academy as a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

* 1946: Joined the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

in and took various air management courses * 1948: Became assistant teacher in

air navigation The basic principles of air navigation are identical to general navigation, which includes the process of planning, recording, and controlling the movement of a craft from one place to another. Successful air navigation involves piloting an air ...

and

flight control A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft e ...

* 1951: Became director general of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Planning at its establishment * 1955: Became head of Civil Aviation of

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 ...

(Eritrea, at the time, was part of the

Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea The Ethiopian–Eritrean Federation was a coalition between the former Italian colony of Eritrea and the Ethiopian Empire. It was established as a result of the renunciation of Italy’s rights and titles to territorial possessions in Africa, i ...

) * 1957: Assumed the post of

director general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...

of the

Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA, am, የኢትዮጵያ ሲቪል ኤቪዬሽን ባለሥልጣን) is an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Government of Ethiopia. It was established under Proclamation ...

and was board member of the

Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines (commonly referred to as Ethiopian; am, የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ, translit=Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā āyer menged), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by t ...

during the same period. * 1961: Became member of the lower house (Chamber of Deputies) of the Imperial Ethiopian Parliament * Elected

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the lower house (Chamber of Deputies) of the Imperial Ethiopian Parliament for three consecutive years. * Helped win a seat for the Ethiopian Parliament in the

International Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other ...

and attended conferences of the IPU in Switzerland, Denmark and former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and was elected as vice president of the 52nd Meeting of the International Parliamentary Union. * Served as manager of the Import and Export Enterprise (IMPEX). * Served as deputy commissioner of the Peace Programme drawn up in 1977 by the provisional military government of Ethiopia (Derg) to settle the Eritrean problem peacefully. * 2000: Became member of the

House of Peoples' Representatives The House of Peoples' Representatives is the lower house of the Ethiopia, Ethiopian Federal Parliamentary Assembly. Located in the capital Addis Ababa, the House has 547 members. All are elected in theory for five-year term in single-seat constit ...

of the

(FDRE) after winning in the

Becho Becho is one of the Aanaas in the Oromia of Ethiopia. Part of the Southwest Shewa Zone, Becho is bordered on the south by Saden Sodo, on the west by Waliso, on the northwest by Dawo, on the north by Elu, and on the east by Tole. The major town in ...

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

constituency,

Mirab Shewa Zone West Shewa Zone ( om, Shawaa Lixaa/Dhihaa) is a Zones of Ethiopia, zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. West Shewa is bordered on the south by the Southwest Shewa Zone and the S ...

of the

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

, as an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

in the second round elections

Experience in non-governmental offices

Between 1965 and 1974: * Board member of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce * Representative for Australian Trade Mission in Ethiopia * Founder and director of the Ghibe Agricultural Association * Founder and director of the Keffa and Illubabor Timber Processing Industry While in the then province of Eritrea before 1990: * President of the

Ethiopian Red Cross Society The Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ቀይ መስቀል ማህበር) is a health facility in Ethiopia. It was founded and recognized by the ICRC The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité ...

– Eritrea Branch (Asmara) * Board president of Cheshire Home * Managing director of Leprosy Control Organization Upon returning to Addis Ababa in 1990, he served as board member of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and head of its International Logistics Department. He launched an environmental protection association called Lem Ethiopia in March 1992 and has severed as its vice president. Two days before Ethiopian Christmas, on 5 January 2014 he made a clear statement on Ethiopia TV, calling for pacification between Ethiopia and Eritrea, calling it his last personal task and fight. He is coordinating from his office a group of people trying to launch peace talks, after fifteen years of disagreements, culminating in the

Eritrean–Ethiopian War The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. The war has its origins in a territorial dispute between the two states. After Eritr ...

of 1998–2000.

Official biography

Indian author Sivakumar K.P. has produced the official biography of Girma Wolde Giorgis. The book, ''Under the Shade of a Gaashe'', was released on 15 July 2015 at the official residence of the former president. Micro Business College is the publisher of the Ethiopian edition. The author acknowledges the role o
Abera Tilahun
founder and president of Micros Business College in Ambo in introducing him to the former president and financing the publishing of the book.

References

External links

The Life of Girma Wolde Giorgis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girma Wolde-Giorgis 1924 births 2018 deaths Ethiopian Air Force personnel Ethiopian Orthodox Christians Ethiopian Oriental Orthodox Christians Oromo people Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front politicians Members of the House of Peoples' Representatives People from Addis Ababa Presidents of Ethiopia