The Ethiopian Revolution of 1974

Timeline

Derg

1972- severe drought (E,S)

1974- New political military group (Derg) overthrows emperor (P)

1975- monarchy was abolished (P) & Emperor dies suspiciously under house arrest (P,S)

1976- Derg expands communist policies (E,P)

1977- Mengistu Haile Mariam seizes power and initiates Red Terror which lasts until 1978 (P)

1978- almost all leadership of EPRP () & MEISON () have been eliminated (P)

1983- famine kills over 300,000 (S)

1984- famine kills over 1 million (E,S)

1987- drought returns (E) and Mariam is elected president (P)

1988- Ethiopia and Somalia sign a peace agreement (P, S)

How the Economy Changed

• led by Mengistu Haile Mariam
• grew more and more popular before the revolution because of their goals of undermining the Emperor's power and legitimacy
• created the Red Terror which caused as much as 500,000 deaths

Emperor Haile Selasssie

1989- failed military coup d'etat

1991- Tesfaye Gebre Kidan takes over as President & Mengistu Haile Mariam

• born July 23rd 1989 and died August 27 1975

• Emperor from 1935 to 1974
• was revered by Rastafarians as a reuturned messiah
• was blamed for a sever drought that lasted from 1972 to 1973

Once the Derg took over, the economy worsened rapidly. They nationalized urban and rural land which frustrated many land owners which meant a loss of support from the wealthier class. The soaring inflation, falling productivity, and growing reliance on foreign aid and loans seriously crippled the economy. While the economy under Haile Selassie was not great, it was much better than the one under the Derg.

Red Terror

Mengistu Haile Mariam

• lasted from 1976 to 1978
• as many as 500,000 people died
• targeted the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party which was competing with the Derg for control of Ethiopia

Bibliography

Causes of the Revolution

• born on May 21 1937
• governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987
• fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 and remained there due to be sentenced to death in Ethiopia
• some estimate that he was responsible for 2 million deaths
• joined army at a very young age

Photo of Emperor Haile Selaisse

www.herald.co.zw/of-dreams-and-wars/

Photo of Mengistu Haile Mariam en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam

• inflation
• lack of significant economic or politcial reform
• severe drought
• poor army conditions (insufficient food and water and low pay)
• government corruption
• alleged cover up of a famine that killed 100,000-200,000
• etc...

The Ethiopian Revolution of 1974

by Allemai Dagnatchew