Mengistu Haile Mariam ( ; Amharic: መንግሥቱ ኃይለ ማርያም, pronunciation: [mənɡɨstu haɪlə marjam]; born 21 May 1937) is an Ethiopian former military officer, communist politician and statesman who served as the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He was General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Ethiopia from 1984 to 1991, chairman of the Derg—the Marxist–Leninist military junta that ruled Ethiopia—from 1977 to 1987, and president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) from 1987 to 1991.
The Derg seized power in the Ethiopian Revolution following the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, marking the end of the Solomonic dynasty which had ruled Ethiopia since the 13th century. Mengistu purged his rivals within the Derg and made himself leader of Ethiopia, attempting to modernize the country's feudal economy through Marxist–Leninist–inspired policies such as nationalization and land redistribution. His consolidation of power in 1977–1978 is known as the Ethiopian Red Terror—a brutal crackdown on opposition groups and civilians following a failed assassination attempt by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) in September 1976, after it had ignored the Derg's invitation to join the union of socialist parties. The death toll is unknown but is estimated at between 30,000 and 750,000 by the Ethiopian Red Terror Documentation and Research Center.
Internal rebellion, government repression, and economic mismanagement characterized Mengistu's presidency, the Red Terror period being a battle for dominance between the Derg, the EPRP, and their rival the All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement (MEISON), which had initially aligned itself with the Derg. While this internal conflict was being fought, Ethiopia was threatened by both the Somali invasion and the guerrilla campaign of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, who demanded independence for Eritrea, then a province of Ethiopia. The Ogaden War of 1977–1978 with Somalia, fought over a disputed border region (Ogaden), was notable for the prominent role of Mengistu's Soviet and Cuban allies in securing an Ethiopian victory. The catastrophic famine of 1983–1985 is what brought his government the most international attention.
Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in May 1991 after the PDRE National Shengo dissolved itself and called for a transitional government. His departure brought an abrupt end to the Ethiopian Civil War. Mengistu Haile Mariam still lives in Harare, Zimbabwe, despite an Ethiopian court verdict which found him guilty of genocide in absentia. Mengistu's government is estimated to be responsible for the deaths of 500,000 to 2,000,000 Ethiopians, mostly during the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia.
Mengistu Haile Mariam was born on 21 May 1937 in Walayitta, Kaffa Province, during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia. Accounts of his family background differ, including claims that his family was of slave origin and came from southern Ethiopia.
After the Italians were defeated and expelled from the country in 1941, with the East African campaign of World War II, his parents moved to Debre Markos. His father, Haile Mariam, subsequently joined the imperial army of Haile Selassie and attained the rank of corporal. He was later transferred to Addis Ababa, where he worked in the army's ammunition production unit. Mengistu grew up partly in the household of Dejazmach Kebede Tesema, a former governor of Gojjam. His father reportedly served as a guard in Kebede's household, while his mother is said to have worked as a domestic servant. Mengistu spent part of his childhood in military camps across the country and part in the compound of the aristocratic household.
In Debre Markos, Mengistu attended Negus Tekle Haimanot School. Accounts of his school years describe him as a troublesome student who showed little interest in his studies. He was eventually expelled from secondary school for misconduct and subsequently entered the army at a young age.
As a young soldier, Mengistu attracted the attention of General Aman Andom, an Eritrean-born officer who promoted him to sergeant and assigned him clerical and messenger duties in his office. Aman recommended him for admission to the Holetta Military Academy, one of Ethiopia's principal military training institutions. After graduating in 1957, Mengistu was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Aman subsequently became his mentor and, when appointed commander of the army's Third Division, brought Mengistu with him to Harar.
In Harar, Mengistu served as an ordnance officer in the Third Division. In 1964, he travelled to the United States for training at the Savanna Army Depot in Illinois, where he attended a six-month course in ordnance testing.
Aman was later transferred to Addis Ababa and removed from his operational military duties. His growing popularity among soldiers, reinforced by his performance at Tog Wuchale during the 1964 Ethiopian–Somali Border War, reportedly contributed to the imperial government's concerns about his influence within the army. Prime Minister Aklilu Habte-Wold reassigned him to a civilian position as a senator. According to a later account, Aman disliked the appointment but feared that refusing it would incur the displeasure of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Aman was succeeded as Third Division commander by General Haile Baikedagn, who reportedly regarded Mengistu as an insubordinate and potentially dangerous officer. According to accounts of their relationship, Haile submitted a confidential report recommending that Mengistu be closely monitored and denied further promotion. Mengistu resisted the general's emphasis on strict discipline and military order, leading to further tensions between the two officers.
Despite these disagreements, Mengistu was subsequently sent to the United States for further military training. He attended an 18-month programme at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, where he also took evening classes at the University of Maryland. During this period, he developed his English-language skills. In 1970, he returned to the United States for further studies at the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
After returning to Ethiopia, Mengistu was expected to assume command of an ordnance sub-division in Harar, but Haile Baikedagn reportedly blocked the appointment because of their earlier disagreements. In November 1974, Haile was executed alongside dozens of senior officials and military officers during the early consolidation of power by the Derg, the military committee that had overthrown Haile Selassie. Mengistu subsequently emerged as the Derg's dominant figure.
Accounts of Mengistu's early military career have also addressed his experiences of ethnic and racial prejudice. Historian Paul B. Henze notes that Mengistu believed he had encountered racial discrimination during his military training in the United States, although Henze found no evidence independently confirming those allegations. Henze also discusses the possibility that such experiences contributed to Mengistu's attitudes towards the United States and his perception of his own social position.
When Mengistu took power, and attended the meeting of Derg members at the Fourth Division headquarters in Addis Ababa, he exclaimed with emotion:
In this country, some aristocratic families automatically categorize persons with dark skin, thick lips, and kinky hair as "Barias" (Amharic for slave)... let it be clear to everybody that I shall soon make these ignoramuses stoop and grind corn!
Historian Bahru Zewde describes Mengistu as having a particular ability to assess situations and individuals. While some observers interpreted this ability as evidence of intelligence, Bahru argues that it was better understood as a form of practical, situational awareness, which he relates to the Ethiopian term aradanat.
Emperor Haile Selassie's government, having lost the confidence of the Ethiopian public following a drought and crop failures in Wollo province, was overthrown in the Ethiopian Revolution of 1974. As a result, power came into the hands of a committee of low-ranking officers and enlisted soldiers led by Atnafu Abate, which came to be known as the Derg. Mengistu was originally one of the lesser members, officially sent to represent the Third Division because his commander, General Nega Tegnegn, considered him a trouble-maker and wanted to get rid of him. Between July and September 1974 through sheer demagoguery and political intrigues, Mengistu succeeded to outmaneuver all officers who stood in his way and climbed the political ladder. Mengistu and Atnafu Abate were the deputy chairmen of Derg from March 1975 to February 1977.