Wolde Giyorgis Wolde Yohannes
Wolde Giyorgis Wolde Yohannes (
Life
Wolde Giyorgis was born in Shewa, and received his education at the Menelik II School.[1] According to John Spencer, he was the son of a saddle-maker and received "little formal education". Spencer considered him his friend, confessing that from "our first encounter at the headquarters at Dessie, I was drawn to him by his lively use of French and his swift ironic wit. Throughout the 12 years of our collaboration, he and I, even in the midst of serious discussion in committee meetings, continued to indulge in ironic by-play."[2]
He became Emperor
Wolde Giyorgis was much involved in negotiating the
However, in 1955 Wolde Giyorgis fell from favor, and a group of four ambitious ministers moved into his place: Makonnen Habte-Wold, Ras Abebe Aregai, Ras Andargachew Masai, and General Mulugeta Bulli. As Christopher Clapham observed, "Not least of among the emperor's achievements was the way in which he caused the resentment both of the nobility and of frustrated reformers to be directed against Wolde Giyorgis rather than himself, thus remaining detached from policies for which he was essentially responsible."[6]
After his downfall, Wolde Giyorgis served as Governor of Arsi (1955–1960), and of Gamu-Gofa (1960–1961). He left Ethiopia for medical treatment, just before the Ethiopian revolution of 1974, becoming an exile in Britain where he died two years later. Wolde Giyorgis was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
Notes
- ^ Bahru Zewde, Pioneers of Change in Ethiopia (Oxford: James Currey, 2002), p. 24
- ^ Spencer, Ethiopia at Bay: A personal account of the Haile Selassie years (Algonac: Reference Publications, 1984), p. 119
- ^ Bahru Zewde, A History of Modern Ethiopia, second ed. (Oxford: James Currey, 2001), p. 204
- ^ Bereket Habte Selassie, "Constitutional Development in Ethiopia", Journal of African Law, 10 (1966), p. 82
- ^ "Aspects of Ethiopian History: Ethiopian Graves in Britain" by Richard Pankhurst (Addis Tribune, accessed 26 October 2007)
- ISBN 0-312-22719-1.