Mengistu Haile Mariam

Mengistu Haile Mariam (መንግስቱ ኃይለ ማርያም, pronounced ; born 21 May 1937) is an Ethiopian politician who was the leader of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He was the chairman of the Derg, the military junta that governed Ethiopia, from 1977 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991. The Derg took power in the Ethiopian Revolution following the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1974, marking the end of the Solomonic dynasty which had ruled Ethiopia since the 13th century. Mengistu purged rivals for power from the Derg and made himself Ethiopia's dictator, attempting to modernize Ethiopia's feudal economy through Marxist-Leninist-inspired policies such as nationalization and land redistribution. His bloody 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 in September 1976, after they had ignored the Derg's invitation to join the union of socialist parties.

Internal rebellion and government repression characterised Mengistu's presidency, the Red Terror period being a battle for dominance between the Derg, the EPRP and their rivals the All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement, who had initially aligned themselves with the Derg. While this internal conflict was being fought Ethiopia was threatened by both Somali invasion and the guerilla campaign of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front who demanded independence for Eritrea, then a province of Ethiopia. The Ogaden War of 1977–1978 over a disputed border region with Somalia 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 regime the most international attention.

Mengistu left for Zimbabwe in May 1991 after the 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, and remains there despite an Ethiopian court verdict finding him guilty in absentia of genocide.

His regime is estimated to be responsible for the deaths 500,000 to over 2,000,000.

Early life
Mengistu's Oromo father, Haile Mariam Wolde Ayana, was born in Furii, the then 8 km west of Addis Ababa (now in Addis Ababa due to the city's growth). He was in the service of the Shewan landowner Afenegus Eshete Geda, who had encountered him while he was on a hunting expedition in the administrative district of Gimira and Maji, then under the governorship of Dejazmach Taye Gulilat. He later became an enlisted man in the Ethiopian army. Afenegus Eshete Geda was the half-brother of Dejazmach Kebede Tessema's wife, Woizero Yitateku Kidane, and it was through this connection that Mengistu's parents are alleged to have met. Unsubstantiated accounts allege that Mengistu's mother was the illegitimate daughter of Dejazmach Kebede Tessema, a high ranking nobleman and Crown Councilor to Emperor Haile Selassie, and himself suspected of being the illegitimate son of Emperor Menelik II. These rumors of Mengistu being the grandson of Dejazmach Kebede are widely believed, but have never been confirmed by either Mengistu himself or by the late nobleman's family.

Mengistu was born on 21 May 1937 in Wolayita or Kaffa Province. His mother died during childbirth when Mengistu was only 8 years old. After the death of his mother, Mengistu and his two siblings went to live with their grandmother for a few years. He then came back to live with his father and soon after joined the army at a very young age. Mengistu's father was very proud of his son's achievements, though some people believe the Ethiopian popular account that states that his family was far from proud of his political accomplishments.

Memoirs
In 2010, Mengistu announced the publication of his memoirs. In early 2012, a manuscript of the memoir, entitled Tiglatchin ("Our Struggle" in Amharic), was leaked onto the internet. Some months later the first leaked volume was published in the United States, and in 2016 the second volume followed. This time it was published in Ethiopia. Mengistu accused the remnants of the EPRP of leaking the first volume to sabotage his publication.

Personal life
Mengistu married Wubanchi Bishaw in 1968. They have a son, Andenet, and daughters, Tigisit and Timihirt.