Mengistu, Haile Mariam (1937– )

Ethiopian soldier and socialist politician, head of state 1977–91 (president 1987–91). He seized power in a coup, and instituted a regime of terror to stamp out any effective opposition. Confronted with severe problems of drought and secessionist uprisings, he survived with help from the USSR and the West until his violent overthrow by rebel forces.

As an officer in the Ethiopian army, Mengistu took part in the overthrow in 1974 of Emperor Haile Selassie and in 1977 led another coup, becoming head of state. In 1987 civilian rule was formally reintroduced, but with the Marxist-Leninist Workers' Party of Ethiopia the only legally permitted party. In May 1991, two secessionist forces closed in on the capital, Addis Ababa, and Mengistu fled the country. He was eventually granted asylum in Zimbabwe. In 1995 he was tried in absentia on charges of mass murder, relating to the assassination of Emperor Selassie and the deaths of thousands of his political opponents during the period known as the ‘Red Terror’ 1977–79. He survived an assassination attempt in November 1995.