The following lists events that happened during

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Girma Wolde-Giorgis Girma Wolde-Giorgis (; 28 December 1924 – 15 December 2018) was an Ethiopian politician who was the president of Ethiopia from 2001 to 2013. He was the second person to hold the office of president since the founding of the Federal Democrati ...

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Asres ( Tigringa and ; ), born Legesse Zenawi Asres (8 May 1955 – 20 August 2012) was an Ethiopian politician and former rebel militant commander who served as president of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and as prime minister from 19 ...

Events

January

*January 2 - Over 50,000 people demonstrate in the capital of Addis Ababa against government plans to renew talks on the border with

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

April

*April 19 - The first part of the

Obelisk of Axum The Obelisk of Axum (; ) is a 4th-century CE, tall phonolite stele, weighing , in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. The obelisk ends in a semi ...

is returned to Ethiopia after being taken by Mussolini to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1937. *April 25 - The third and last part of the Obelisk is returned to Ethiopia.

May

*May 10 -

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

accuses Ethiopia of harassment and detention of opposition politicians in the

Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

region. *May 15 -

Ethiopian general elections, 2005 General elections were held in Ethiopia on 15 May 2005, for seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives and four regional government councils. Under pressure from the international community, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promised that this ele ...

*May 16 - Prime Minister Zenawi bans demonstrations in the capital of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

after allegations by the opposition that the ruling

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; ) was an ethnic federalist political coalition in Ethiopia that existed from 1989 to 2019. It consisted of four political parties: Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara ...

has been involved in harassment of opposition members and electoral fraud. *May 28 - Provisional results reveal the EPRDF has won the majority of seats in government but the opposition claims rigging was involved and the election results are due on June 8.

June

*June 6 - Over 500 students are arrested following protests against the elections. The election result date has been postponed to July 8th after allegations of fraud by the opposition. *June 11 - Opposition members allege the government of keeping

Coalition for Unity and Democracy The Coalition for Unity and Democracy ( Ge'ez : ቅንጅት ለአንድነት እና ዴሞክራሲ), commonly referred to by its English abbreviation CUD, or occasionally CDU (its Amharic abbreviation, used in Ethiopia, is Qinijit; in Englis ...

leader Hailu Shawel and senior official

Lidetu Ayalew Lidetu Ayalew ( Ge'ez: ልደቱ አያለዉ; born 1969) is an Ethiopian politician who is the founder and the leader of the Ethiopian Democratic Party. He was a deputy chairman and chief spokesperson of Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CU ...

under house arrest and demand their release. *June 22 - Opposition parties claim that the government investigators had dropped all claims of electoral fraud.

July

*July 8 - The first poll results for the elections in May reveal the EPRDF winning. CUD alleges fraud and protests in Addis Ababa leave at least 36 dead. *July 25 - Five people are killed in bomb blasts at a night club in the Somali region.

November

*November 1 - Protests unleash in Addis Ababa due to allegations of election fraud, causing clashes leading to 2 police officers and 6 protesters dying. *November 3 - In the third day of protests, the death toll of people killed in clashes between protesters and police rises to at least 40. *November 4 - Violence begins to die down in the capital with clashes still being prevalent in Debre Berhan. However, few shops are open and no taxis are operating. *November 13 - Prime Minister Zenawi defends the government from critics after the police violently crackdown on protesters and opposition members are imprisoned on treason charges.

References

{{Africa topic, 2005 in Years of the 21st century in Ethiopia 2000s in Ethiopia