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1 [1] (May 5, 2015)

handle is hein.crs/crsuntaafng0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gres lonal Research Service Inforn jig h legi Iatiw~ debat since 1914 May 5, 2015 Ethiopia: An Overview Ethiopia is Africa's second most populous country and its oldest independent state. The United States considers the Ethiopian government to be an important development and regional security partner, but also a source of concern regarding human rights and democracy. Good relations with the United States are rooted in cooperation on efforts to counter terrorism and respond to instability in the volatile Horn of Africa region, and on shared efforts to alleviate Ethiopia's endemic poverty. The country has been plagued by frequent drought and chronic food insecurity and is one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid, primarily in the form of health, food, and other humanitarian assistance. Ethiopia plays a key leadership role in the region and on the continent. It hosts the African Union (AU) and contributes significant numbers of troops to U.N. peacekeeping operations. Ethiopian peacekeepers play a critical role along the volatile Sudan-South Sudan border and in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Ethiopian forces also play a critical role in efforts to counter the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Al Shabaab in Somalia. As a member of the East Africa regional body known as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Ethiopia hosts various peace negotiations, including the ongoing dialogue between the governments of Sudan and South Sudan and talks between Sudan and its armed opposition groups. An Ethiopian diplomat is the lead mediator for talks between the opposing sides of South Sudan's civil war. Background Ethiopia is one of only two African countries to have avoided colonial rule, and the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Ethiopia dates back more than one hundred years. In the past century, Ethiopia's politics have been largely dominated by three leaders. Emperor Haile Selassie ruled from 1930 to 1974, when he was deposed by a socialist military junta known as the Derg. The Derg was accused of massive human rights abuses (dubbed the Red Terror), and of ignoring a famine that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. An army officer, Mengistu Haile Mariam, became head of state at the helm of the Derg in 1977. In 1989, several ethnically based opposition groups merged to form the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Front (EPRDF), and in 1991 they overthrew the Derg and Mengistu, who fled to Zimbabwe, where he remains in exile. The EPRDF allowed Eritreans to vote on secession, a key demand of the Eritrean faction of the anti- Derg struggle, leading to Eritrean independence in 1993. EPRDF leader Meles Zenawi served as President of Ethiopia and then as Prime Minister from 1991 until his death in 2012. He was considered a powerful figure in both Ethiopian and regional politics. Meles was widely credited with spearheading the economic reforms that have made Figure I. Ethiopia: Key Facts Ethiopia one of Africa's fastest growing economies. As leader of both the EPRDF, an alliance of four ethno- regional parties, and one of its components, the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF), however, he also was accused by critics of stifling dissent and ensuring that his minority Tigrayan ethnic group dominated the government. Current Political Issues Hailemariam Desalegn (deh-sah-LEEN) became Prime Minister in 2012, after Meles' death. As a Protestant, he is Ethiopia's first non-Ethiopian-Orthodox head of state, and is from a small ethnic group, the Wolayta. Hailemariam was also elected chairman of the EPRDF coalition. In 2013, the EPRDF-dominated parliament elected Mulatu Teshome Wirtu as President, a largely ceremonial post. Despite regular elections, Ethiopia's tradition of authoritarian rule continues to impede participatory democracy. The EPRDF has dominated successive elections since 1995. Elections in 2005-in which the opposition had been expected to make significant gains- were marred by violence, as the government responded to post-election protests by detaining thousands of opposition members, journalists, and civic activists. An estimated 200 people were reportedly killed by security forces during the protests, and top opposition leaders were put on trial. The disputed elections led to a broader tightening of democratic space as the EPRDF reconsolidated control. Opposition parties boycotted local and by-elections held in 2008. Elections in 2010, won by the EPRDF with 99.6% of the vote, were generally peaceful, but the electoral environment did not meet international standards of fairness, according to U.S. and European election monitors and governments. The EPRDF is widely expected to again dominate the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 24. www.crs.gov 7-5700

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