The prime minister of Ethiopia is the head of government and chief executive of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a

parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...

with a prime minister as head of the government and the commander-in-chief of the

Ethiopian Armed Forces The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out t ...

. The prime minister is the most powerful political figure in Ethiopian politics. The official residence of the prime minister is the

Menelik Palace The Menelik Palace, also known as the Imperial Palace or Great Ghebbi, is a palatial compound in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Previously for years was known as the Gebbi, it was the seat of the power of Emperor of Ethiopia, Emperors of Ethiopia. Within ...

in Addis Ababa. The prime minister is elected from the members of the House of Peoples' Representatives and presents a government platform. The prime minister must receive a vote of confidence in the House of Peoples' Representatives to exercise executive power as chief executive. Abiy Ahmed is the third prime minister 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 ...

, serving since April 2018.

Origins and history

The office of prime minister has been consistently used in modern Ethiopian history. Prior to the establishment of modern government institutions, Ethiopia was an absolute monarchy with the

King of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...

presiding as the absolute ruler of Ethiopia. The role of head of government emerged as a cabinet position in the late 18th and early 19th centuries following the introduction of modern government by Emperor Menelik II. The heads of government of Ethiopia have been the chief minister (1909–1943), and then the prime minister (1943–present). The 1995 Constitution transformed Ethiopia into a

and made the prime minister the chief executive of Ethiopia.

Absolute monarchy era (1270–1931) and Constitutional Monarchy (1931-1974)

The chief minister of Ethiopia

The first head of government at the cabinet level was Habte Giyorgis Dinagde as the emperor's loyal chief minister under Emperor Menelik II. The chief minister was the chair of the cabinet and the Ministry of Defense, who served at the pleasure of the

, the absolute ruler. In modern Ethiopian history there have been three chief ministers, including

Tafari Makonnen Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

under

Empress Zewditu , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Zewditu ( gez, ዘውዲቱ, born Askala Maryam; 29 April 1876 – 2 April 1930) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 193 ...

and Betwoded Wolde Tzaddick under

Emperor Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

The 1931 Constitution of Ethiopia

The office of the prime minister was officially established following the

1931 Constitution of Ethiopia The 1931 Constitution of Ethiopia was the first modern constitution of the Ethiopian Empire, intended to officially replace the ''Fetha Nagast'', which had been the supreme law since the Middle Ages. It was promulgated in "an impressive ceremony" ...

. The 1931 constitution was the first modern constitution in Ethiopia that attempted to create a modern system of government. The 1931 Constitution of Ethiopia named the

emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...

as the absolute ruler of Ethiopia and the prime minister as the leader of the council of ministers that coordinated day-to-day government activities with the consent of the emperor of Ethiopia. Until the 1955 revised Constitution of Ethiopia there were three prime ministers, including the first prime minister Makonnen Endelkachew and the last prime minister Abebe Aregai, who was assassinated during the failed

1960 Ethiopian coup d'état attempt The 1960 Ethiopian coup d'etat attempt ( Amharic: የታህሳሱ ግርግር) was an attempted coup d'etat and a series of shootouts in the Ethiopian Empire on 13 December 1960 against Emperor Haile Selassie. The Council of the Revolution, fo ...

. Following the assassination of Abebe Aregai, Imru Haile Selassie served as acting prime minister for only three days.

The 1955 Constitution of Ethiopia

The revised 1955 constitution of Ethiopia was put into effect in 1961 following the failed

. The 1955 revised Constitution of Ethiopia attempted to take Ethiopia towards a constitutional monarchy system. Under the 1955 constitution the office of the prime minister and

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

was given autonomy and power. Although the prime minister and parliament's power was stronger on paper, in practice the

possessed significant power and ruled the country as de jure absolute ruler. Nonetheless since Ethiopia was coming out from absolute monarchy where only the monarch had power, over time the prime minister became in fact the head of government while the Emperor was the head of state. The first prime minister under the 1955 Constitution of Ethiopia was Aklilu Habte-Wold, and the last prime minister was

Mikael Imru '' Lij'' Mikael Imru (21 November 1929 – 26 October 2008) was an Ethiopian politician who was Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 3 August to 12 September 1974. Biography Born in Addis Ababa, Mikael Imru was the only son of '' Leul Ras'' Imru Hai ...

, who was dismissed following the

1974 revolution 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 " ...

which established the Provisional Military Government (PMG).

The Provisional Military Government (PMG) (1974–1987)

In September 1974 the last

, Haile Selassie, was overthrown by a military coup. The military administration abolished the

monarchies of Ethiopia {{Short description, Monarchies existed throughout Ethiopian history This is a list of monarchies of Ethiopia that existed throughout the nation's history. It is divided into kingdoms that were subdivisions of Ethiopia, and kingdoms that were later ...

and established the

Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia 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 ...

. The chairman of the Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia was head of the government. From 1974 until 1987 the office of prime minister was not in use until the declaration of

1987 Constitution of Ethiopia The Constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (), also known as the 1987 Constitution of Ethiopia, was the third constitution of Ethiopia, and went into effect on 22 February 1987 after a referendum on 1 February of that year. ...

which created 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 ...

The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) (1987–1991)

The prime minister office came into effect following the declaration of the

(PDRE). The

named the prime minister as the head of government and the principal advisor to the president of the people's republic. The prime minister also held the highest rank in the civil service of the central government. The prime minister was formally approved by the

National Shengo The National Shengo (, ) was the legislature of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) from 1987 to 1991. Overview The Shengo was established on 22 February 1987, three weeks after a national referendum approved a new constitutio ...

upon the nomination of the president. In practice, the prime minister was chosen within the Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE) through deliberations by incumbent WEP Politburo members and retired WEP Politburo Standing Committee members. The first prime minister of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was

Fikre Selassie Wogderess 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 (PDRE) from 10 September 1987 to ...

, who served from 1987 to 1989. The last prime minister was Tesfaye Dinka, who fled to the United States in exile following the dissolution of the London peace conference which ended the PDRE and established the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE).

Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TEG) (1991–1995)

The end of the Ethiopian Civil War in May 1991 resulted in the end to the

constitution. A new provisional constitution and Transitional Government of Ethiopia was formed. The Transitional Government of Ethiopia was de facto a

semi-presidential system A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

, with the president as head of state and prime minister as head of government. The prime minister was appointed by the president, along with other ministers in the Cabinet. The prime minister coordinated and chaired cabinet meetings with the consultation of the president of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia. The only prime minister who served during the Transitional Government of Ethiopia was

Tamrat Layne Tamrat Layne Admassu ( gez, ታምራት ላይኔ አድማሱ; born 1955) is an Ethiopian former politician and a converted born-again Christian. He had served as Prime Minister of Ethiopia during the Transitional Government of Ethiopia after ...

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) (1995–present)

A draft of a new constitution was declared in 1995 as the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The

1995 Constitution of Ethiopia The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (), also known as the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, is the supreme law of Ethiopia. The constitution came into force on 21 August 1995 after it was drawn up by the Constituent Asse ...

transformed Ethiopia into a

with 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 ...

as head of state and the prime minister as head of government. The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia explicitly vests executive power in the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

chaired by the prime minister as chief executive and de jure commander-in-chief of the

. The prime minister is nominated among members of the House of Peoples' Representatives and must be approved by two-third majority vote of confidence. In practice, the prime minister is the leader of the largest party with the highest number of sites in the House of Peoples' Representatives. The prime minister nominates the member of Council of Ministers for approval by House of Peoples' Representatives by two-third majority. The first prime minister of FDRE was Meles Zenawi, who served from 1995 to 2012. The current prime minister is Abiy Ahmed serving since April 2018.

Nomination and appointment of the prime minister

After a

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, the

National Election Board of Ethiopia The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) () is an autonomous federal government agency which supervises the national elections of Ethiopia. The NEBE was established by Proclamation number 64/1992, and answers to the House of Peoples' Re ...

announces the official results. Based on the results the

nominates the leader of the party with the majority in the House of Peoples' Representatives as ''Prime Minister Designate of Ethiopia'' to form the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The leader of the party must be a member of the House of Peoples' Representatives to be nominated as ''The Prime Minister Designate of Ethiopia''. If no party wins an overall majority, the president of Ethiopia invites the leader of the relative majority (plurality) political party to form a coalition government with other parties. The prime minister designate must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of confidence in the House of Peoples' Representatives to be appointed as Prime Minister of Ethiopia. After being appointed, the prime minister presents himself before the House of Peoples' Representatives and makes a declaration of loyalty to the Constitution and the people of Ethiopia.

Security

The prime minister of Ethiopia is the most protected government official. The prime minister's security detail is under the command of the Republican Guard, which is a special armed unit of the Ethiopian National Defense Force. The Republican Guard's Counter Military Unit is responsible for protecting the prime minister's official residence

commonly known as 4 Killo National Palace. The Counter Military Unit is an élite paramilitary force armed with heavy assault rifles such as Israel-made Tavor-21 and American M4 carbines as well as having snipers, helicopters and armored vehicles.

Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia (DPME)

Article 76 of the constitution states that "The Council of Ministers comprises the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers and other members as may be determined by law. On Article 75 of the constitution states DPME is responsible to the Prime Minister. The Deputy Prime Minister Carry out responsibilities which shall be specifically entrusted by the Prime Minister. The DPME (Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia) also act on behalf of the Prime Minister in his absence."

References

External links

{{Heads of state and government of African states * Government of Ethiopia 1943 establishments in Ethiopia