Se'are Mekonnen (; ; 1954 – 22 June 2019) was an Ethiopian general who served as the
Chief of General Staff of the
Ethiopian National Defense Force
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) () is the combined military force of Ethiopia. ENDF is consisted of 10 command forces which is controlled by the Chief of General Staff.
Commanders of the Military
Supreme Commander – Taye At ...
from 2018 until his
assassination
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
on 22 June 2019.
Biography
A veteran of the
Tigray People's Liberation Front
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing Ethnic nationalism, ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a ter ...
during 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 ...
, General Se'are served as head of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) Northern Command and the military's joint education and training department.
He was appointed to the
Chief of General Staff in 2018 by Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed, succeeding
Samora Yunis.
Despite his partisan origins in the TPLF, Se'are was known to be an astute advocate for ethic regulation,
professionalism, political neutrality of the armed forces during his tenure as Chief of General Staff, quoted in 2018 that "Ethnicity, is potent force for destruction, and must be discarded as an obstacle for building a modern army".
On 22 June 2019 while responding to
a coup attempt in the Amhara region along with his aide, Major General (retired) Gizae Aberra, Se'are was killed by his bodyguard according to government sources.
The bodyguard who allegedly assassinated the general was treated for gunshot wounds he suffered at the time of the shoot-out, according to government sources.
The widow of Se'are, Colonel Tsige Alemayehu, who was present with Se'are in their private residence, and alerted the authorities at the time the shootings took place, according to her interviews conducted by BBC and the local media OMN, dispute that despite her continuous efforts and failed attempts to reach out to the prosecutor and the Attorney General office to cooperate and testify against the suspect in the trial. She claimed she has yet to be called as a government witness. She also pledged the local and international community to support her quest for a fair trial and justice Se'are.
The bodyguard on trial, Mesfin Tigabu, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2021.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seare Mekonnen
2019 deaths
Ethiopian generals
People from Tigray Region
Assassinated Ethiopian military personnel
2019 murders in Ethiopia
1954 births