The Life and Politics of Menghitsu

Many know Menghitsu as a tyrant, a man who watched millions of people die under his watch. Though some know him as a tyrant, he was technically the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. During much of Menghitsu’s reign over the country of Ethiopia the country was led by the Menghitsu allied Workers’ Party of Ethiopia. Many know of the reign of Menghitsu, but generally not for the good things his government did for the people.

Menghitsu started out like many boys did in 1937 that were born in Walayata Ethiopia. His whole name was Menghitsu Haile Mariaim, though the first name is often spelled Mengistu. The father of Menghitsu was a solider and his mother was a household servant. Not much is known about his early years, what is known is that he joined the Army and graduated from the Military Academy in 1966. It seemed as though Menghitsu was bound to do great things in his life.

In 1974 Menghitsu was one of many low ranking soldiers known as the Derg that overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie. The soldiers overthrew the Emperor as the people lost confidence in him after a BBC documentary held nothing back in its coverage of a terrible famine in the Wollo province. Haile Selassie was older, had hardly any political backing because of the BBC documentary, and he was not warned of the Derg’s plans to overthrow him and all of these things attributed to the Derg’s ability to overthrow him quite easily. Interestingly, the Emperor lived for just one year after the Derg’s attempt to undermine the Imperial regime, and history says that the Emperor was strangled after Menghitsu himself ordered it to be done.

Menghitsu became head of state in 1977 after two of his predecessors were executed. Under Menghitsu Ethiopia received much needed aid from the Soviet Union, other members of the Warsaw Pact, and Cuba. The public did not take kindly to Menghitsu and from 1977 through early 1978 there was a serious rebellion against the new government that resulted in countless causalities. Name-calling and threats were common during this time; in response to the anti-Menghitsu guerilla attacks from the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party Menghitsu declared that the group had begun a “White Terror” campaign. Anti-Menghitsu forces responded by saying that Menghitsu’s Workers’ Party was on a “Red Terror” campaign.

Menghitsu responded to the anti-Menghitsu attacks by allowing counter-insurgency forcers to arrest and detain and even execute rebels. Countless insurgents were arrested and executed during this time, though we can never really know the true numbers of people that were killed or tortured. Menghitsu also got into several rifts with Marxist groups during this time, even the group that had originally supported him. Menghitsu effectively got rid of his opposition in three bloody phases, the first targeted the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party, the second targeting the All Ethiopia Socialist Movement group, and the third phase eliminated any odds and ends from both groups.

By 1978 the civil war was over, with Menghitsu still in office. Unfortunately for him, Menghitsu was still not favored by all of the citizens of the country. Menghitsu also found it increasingly difficult to deal with the problems of hunger that seemed to becoming even more common in the poverty stricken land.

In the 1980’s Ethiopia adopted a couple of revised constitutions under Menghitsu. In 1987 a new constitution made Menghitsu a civilian president and the country was renamed the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The 1980’s were a rough time for his government as they oversaw widespread famine from 198-1985 and uprisings in the Northern regions of the country. In 1989 the Ethiopian people hand enough and several groups merged to form the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. In 1991 the group advanced upon Addis Ababa, ending the reign of Menghitsu. Of course, Menghitsu doesn’t blame himself for the collapse of his government; he blames Mikhail Gorbachev for his part in the fall of the Soviet Union which cut off all aid to Ethiopia.

Menghitsu didn’t stick around for long in Ethiopia after the fall of his government. He and 50 Derg soldiers fled Ethiopia and were granted asylum in Zimbabwe. Menghitsu is formally a guest of Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe. Menghitsu still resides in Zimbabwe today and he’ll likely never return to Ethiopia. Menghitsu and his Derg soldiers will all be tried in absentia, as they should be for their reign of terror over Ethiopia for so long.