Ethiopia
"Abyssinia" redirects here. For the breed of cat, see Abyssinian (cat).Ethiopia, officially the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (
Ge'ez ኢትዮጵያ
Ītyōṗṗyā), is a country situated in the
Horn of Africa. It is the 2nd most populous nation in
Africa. It is bordered by
Eritrea to the north,
Djibouti to the northeast,
Somalia to the east,
Kenya to the south, and
Sudan to the west. Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. Unique among African countries, Ethiopia maintained its independence during the
Scramble for Africa, and continued to do so except for a five-year period (1936-41) when it was under
Italian occupation. But even during this period there was no Italian colonization of Ethiopia as the Italians occupied a few key cities and most of Ethiopia was not affected by their presence; the Italian period is thus considered an "
occupation" and not colonial rule. In addition, Ethiopia has long been a member of
international organisations: it became a member of the
League of Nations, signed the
Declaration by United Nations in 1942, founded the UN headquarters in Africa and was one of the 51 original members of the
United Nations.
Ethiopia was also
historically called Abyssinia, derived from the
Arabic form of the
Ethiosemitic name "HBSHT," modern
Habesha. The English name "Ethiopia" is thought to be derived from the Greek word
Aithiopia, from
Aithiops ‘an Ethiopian', derived from Greek terms meaning "of burnt (
αιθ-) visage ()".
[Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon (s. v.); Αιθιοπηες Il. 1.423, properly, Burnt-face, i.e. Ethiopian, negro] However, this etymology is disputed. The
Book of Aksum, an
Ge'ez chronicle first composed in the 15th century, states that the name is derived from "'Ityopp'is", a son (unmentioned in the Bible) of
Cush, son of Ham who according to
legend founded the city of
Axum. In some countries like
Turkey, Ethiopia is called
Habeshistan, meaning land of the
Habesha people.
Human settlement in Ethiopia is very ancient: bones discovered in eastern Ethiopia have been assigned dates as long ago as 3.2 million years . Together with
Eritrea and the southeastern part of the
Red Sea coast of Sudan, it is considered the most likely location of the land known to the
ancient Egyptians as
Punt (or "Ta Netjeru," meaning land of the Gods), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. Around the 8th century BC, a kingdom known as D'mt was established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital at Yeha in northern Ethiopia. There are many theories regarding the beginning of Ethiopian civilization. One theory which has been around for a long time (especially in the Ethiopian legends) states that it was founded by Semitic-speaking
Sabaean migrants from Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia in the past.
[ Megalommatis, MohammedK.P. Yemen's Past and Perspectives are in Africa, not a fictitious 'Arab' world , "] Another theory, which is more widely accepted today states that it is an African civilization
[Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh: University Press, 1991, pp.57. ] After the fall of D`mt in the 5th century BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms, until the rise of one of these kingdoms, the
Aksumite Kingdom, ancestor of medieval and modern Ethiopia, during the
first century BC, which was able to reunite the area.
[Pankhurst, Richard K.P. Addis Tribune, "[http://www.addistribune.com/Archives/2003/01/17-01-03/Let.htm Let's Look Across the Red Sea I", January 17, 2003.]. They established bases on the northern highlands of the
Ethiopian Plateau and from there expanded southward. The Persian religious figure
Mani listed
Axum with
Rome,
Persia, and
China as one of the four great powers of his time.
[Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: A Civilization of Late Antiquity (Edinburgh: University Press, 1991), pp.13.] It was in the early 4th century
AD that a Syro-
Greek castaway,
Frumentius, was taken to the court and eventually converted King
Ezana to
Christianity, thereby making it the official state religion.
[Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia: 1270-1527 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972), pps.22-3.] For this accomplishment, he received the title
"Abba Selama" ("Father of peace"). At various times, including a period in the
6th century, Axum controlled most of modern-day
Yemen and some of southern
Saudi Arabia just across the
Red Sea, as well as controlling northern Sudan, northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and northern Somalia.
[Munro-Hay, Aksum, pp.36]The line of rulers descended from the Axumite kings was broken several times: first by the Jewish or pagan
Queen Gudit around
950[Taddesse, Church and State, pps.38-41.] or
850.
[Tekeste Negash, "The Zagwe period re-interpreted: post-Aksumite Ethiopian urban culture." ] It was then interrupted by the
Zagwe dynasty; it was during this dynasty that the famous rock-hewn churches of
Lalibela were carved under
King Lalibela, allowed by a long period of peace and stability.
[Tekeste, "Zagwe period-reinterpreted."] Around
1270, the
Solomonic dynasty came to control Ethiopia, claiming descent from the kings of Axum. They called themselves
Neguse Negest ("King of Kings," or
Emperor), basing their claims on their direct descent from
Solomon and the queen of
Sheba.
[Taddesse, Church and State, pps.64-8.]During the reign of Emperor
Yeshaq, Ethiopia made its first successful diplomatic contact with a European country since Aksumite times, sending two emissaries to
Alfons V of Aragon, who sent return emissaries that failed to complete the trip to Ethiopia.
[Girma Beshah and Merid Wolde Aregay, The Question of the Union of the Churches in Luso-Ethiopian Relations (1500-1632) (Lisbon:Junta de Investigações do Ultramar and Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, 1964), pps.13-4.] The first continuous relations with a European country began in 1508 with
Portugal under Emperor
Lebna Dengel, who had just inherited the throne from his father.
[Girma and Merid, Question of the Union of the Churches, pp.25.] This proved to be an important development, for when the Empire was subjected to the attacks of the
Adal General and
Imam,
Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (called
"Grañ", or "the Left-handed"), Portugal responded to Lebna Dengel's plea for help with an army of 400 men, who helped his son
Gelawdewos defeat Ahmad and re-establish his rule.
[Girma and Merid, Question of the Union of the Churches, pps.45-52]. However, when Emperor
Susenyos converted to
Roman Catholicism in 1624, years of revolt and civil unrest followed resulting in thousands of deaths.
[Girma and Merid, Question of the Union of the Churches, pps.91;97-104.] The
Jesuit missionaries had offended the Orthodox faith of the local Ethiopians, and on June 25, 1632 Susenyos' son, Emperor
Fasilides, declared the state religion to again be
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and expelled the Jesuit missionaries and other Europeans.
[Girma and Merid, Question of the Union of the Churches, pp.105.][van Donzel, Emeri, "Fasilädäs" in Siegbert von Uhlig, ed., Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha (Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005), pp.500.]All of this contributed to Ethiopia's isolation from 1755 to 1855, called the
Zemene Mesafint or "Age of Princes." The Emperors became figureheads, controlled by warlords like Ras
Mikael Sehul of
Tigray, and later by the
Oromo Yejju dynasty.
[Pankhurst, Richard, The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles, (London:Oxford University Press, 1967), pps.139-143.] Ethiopian isolationism ended following a British mission that concluded an alliance between the two nations; however, it was not until the reign of Emperor
Tewodros II, who began modernizing Ethiopia and recentralizing power in the Emperor, that Ethiopia began to take part in world affairs once again.
The 1880s were marked by the
Scramble for Africa and modernization in Ethiopia, when the
Italians began to vie with the British for influence in bordering regions.
Assab, a port near the southern entrance of the Red Sea, was bought from the local
Afar sultan, vassal to the Ethiopian Emperor, in March 1870 by an Italian company, which by
1890 led to the Italian colony of
Eritrea. Conflicts between the two countries resulted in the
Battle of Adowa in
1896, whereby the Ethiopians surprised the world by defeating the colonial power and remaining independent, under the rule of
Menelik II. Italy and Ethiopia signed a
provisional treaty of peace on
October 26 1896.
The early 20th century was marked by the reign of Emperor
Haile Selassie I, who undertook the rapid modernization of Ethiopia — interrupted only by the brief
Italian occupation (
1936–
1941).
[Clapham, Christopher, "Ḫaylä Śəllase I" in Siegbert von Uhlig, ed., Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha (Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005), pps.1062-3.] British and patriot Ethiopian troops liberated the Ethiopian homeland in 1941, which was followed by
sovereignty on January 31, 1941 and British recognition of full sovereignty (i.e. without any special British privileges) with the signing of the
Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement in December 1944.
[Clapham,"Ḫaylä Śəllase I", Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, pp.1063.] |
Early nineteenth century warriors |
Haile Selassie's reign came to an end in
1974, when a pro-
Soviet Marxist-Leninist military
junta, the "
Derg", deposed him and established a one-party
communist state. The ensuing regime suffered several bloody
coups, uprisings, wide-scale
drought, and a massive
refugee problem. In
1977 Somalia attacked Ethiopia in the
Ogaden War, but Ethiopia quickly defeated them with a massive influx of Soviet military hardware, direct Cuban military presence, coupled with East German and South Yemeni military assistance the following year. In spite of accruing one of the largest armies in Africa due to benevolent military assistance from Socialist Bloc countries, an unending insurgency in the then provinces of Eritrea and Tigray, a major drought in 1985 and regime changes in the former Socialist Bloc culminated in the Derg regime being defeated in
1991 by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) in the far north, and elsewhere by the
Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a loose coalition of rebel forces mainly dominated by the Tigrean People's Liberation Front. In
1993, the province of
Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia, following a referendum, ending more than 20 years of armed conflict, one of the longest in Africa. In
1994, a constitution was adopted, that led to Ethiopia's first multiparty elections in the following year. In May
1998, a dispute over the undemarcated border with Eritrea led to the
Eritrean-Ethiopian War that lasted until June
2000. This has hurt the nation's economy, but strengthened the ruling coalition. On
May 15,
2005, Ethiopia held
another multiparty election, and resulted in the EPRDF's disputed return to power. In early June and again in November, police under the command of the EPRDF shot and killed demonstrators who were protesting the alleged election fraud.
The election of Ethiopia's 547-member constituent assembly was held in June 1994. This assembly adopted the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in December 1994. The elections for Ethiopia's first popularly-chosen national parliament and regional legislatures were held in May and June
1995. Most opposition parties chose to boycott these elections. There was a landslide victory for the
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). International and non-governmental observers concluded that opposition parties would have been able to participate had they chosen to do so.
The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was installed in August 1995. The first President was
Negasso Gidada. The EPRDF-led government of Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi has promoted a policy of ethnic federalism, devolving significant powers to regional, ethnically-based authorities. Ethiopia today has 9 semi-autonomous administrative regions that have the power to raise and spend their own revenues. Under the present government, Ethiopians enjoy greater political participation and freer debate than ever before in their history, although some fundamental freedoms, including
freedom of the press, are, in practice, somewhat circumscribed.
Zenawi's government was re-elected in 2000 in Ethiopia's first multi-party elections. The incumbent President is
Girma Wolde-Giorgis.
Since
1991, Ethiopia has established warm relations with the
United States and western
Europe and has sought substantial economic aid from Western countries and
World Bank. In
2004, the government began a drive to move more than two million people away from the arid highlands of the east, proposing that these resettlements would reduce food shortages
[In Pictures: Ethiopia's great resettlement BBC 22 April 2004].
Ethiopia held another
general election in May 2005, which drew a record number of voters, with 90% of the electorate turning out to cast their vote. While the election was deemed by the European Union election observer team to fall short of international standards for fair and free elections, other teams drew different conclusions. The African Union report on September 14 commended "the Ethiopian people's display of genuine commitment to democratic ideals", and on September 15 the US Carter Center concluded that "the majority of the constituency results based on the May 15 polling and tabulation are credible and reflect competitive conditions". The US Department of State said on September 16, "these elections stand out as a milestone in creating a new, more competitive multi-party political system in one of Africa's largest and most important countries." Even the EU preliminary statement of 2005 also said "...the polling processes were generally positive. The overall assessment of the process has been rated as good in 64% of the cases, and very good in 24%".
The opposition complained that the ruling EPRDF engaged in widespread vote rigging and intimidation, alleging fraud in 299 constituencies. All allegations were investigated by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia in cooperation with election monitors, a process which delayed the release of the final results. In
June 2005, with the results of the election still unclear, a group of university students protested these alleged discrepancies, encouraged by supporters of the Coalition for Unity opposition party, despite a ban on protests imposed by the government. On
June 8, 26 people were killed in
Addis Ababa as a result of rioting, which led to the arrest of hundreds of protesters. On
September 5,
2005, the National Elections Board of Ethiopia released the final election results in which confirmed that the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front retained its control of the government, but showed that opposition parties had increased their share of parliamentary seats, from 12 to 176. The Coalition for Unity and Democracy won all the seats in Addis Ababa, both for the Parliament and the City Council.
Street protests broke out again, when the opposition called for a general strike and boycotted the new Parliament, refusing to accept the results of the election. The police forces once again attempted to contain the protests and this time 42 people were killed in Addis Ababa, including seven policemen, and another of whom later died because of fatal injuries caused by a hand grenade detonation. Thousands were arrested, and were taken to various detention centers across the country. By February 2006, six hundred remained in custody, facing trial in March.
On 14 November, the Ethiopian Parliament passed a resolution to establish a neutral commission to investigate the incidents of June 8 and November 1 and 2. In February 2006, UK Prime Minister Blair, acknowledging that the EPRDF has won the election, said he wanted to see Ethiopia resolve its internal problems and continue on a democratic path
[UK PM targets Ethiopia at summit BBC 12 February 2006].
Ethiopia is 1,127,127
square kilometres (435,071
sq. mi) in size, and is the major portion of the
Horn of Africa, which is the eastern-most part of the African landmass. Bordering Ethiopia is
Sudan to the west,
Djibouti and
Eritrea to the north,
Somalia to the east, and
Kenya to the south. Within Ethiopia is a massive highland complex of mountains and dissected plateaus divided by the
Great Rift Valley, which runs generally southwest to northeast and is surrounded by lowlands,
steppes, or semi-desert. The great diversity of terrain determines wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation, and settlement patterns.
Climate and ecology
Elevation and geographic location produce three climatic zones: the cool zone above 2,400
meters (7,900
ft) where temperatures range from near freezing to 16°
C (32°–61°
F); the temperate zone at elevations of 1,500 to 2,400 meters (4,900—7,900 ft) with temperatures from 16°C to 30°C (61°–86°
F); and the hot zone below 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) with both tropical and arid conditions and daytime temperatures ranging from 27°C to 50°C (81°–122°
F). The normal rainy season is from mid-June to mid-September (longer in the southern highlands) preceded by intermittent showers from February or March; the remainder of the year is generally dry.
Ethiopia is an ecologically diverse country.
Lake Tana in the north is the source of the
Blue Nile. It also has a large number of endemic species, notably the
Gelada Baboon, the
Walia Ibex and the
Ethiopian wolf (or Simien fox).
Before 1996 Ethiopia was divided into 13 (14 before Eritrea's independence in 1993)
provinces, many of which historical bases. Ethiopia now has a tiered government system consisting of a
federal government, ethnically-based regional states,
zones,
districts (
woredas), and
neighborhoods (
kebele).
Ethiopia is divided into 9 ethnically-based administrative
regions (
kililoch, sing.
kilil), and subdivided into 68 zones and two chartered cities (
astedader akababiwoch, sing.
astedader akababi):
Addis Ababa and
Dire Dawa(subdivisions 1 and 5 in the map, respectively). It is further subdivided into 550
woredas and six
special woredas.
The constitution assigns extensive power to regional states that can establish their own government and democracy according to the federal government's constitution. Each region has its appex regional council where members are directly elected to represent the districts and the council has legislative and excutive power to direct internal affairs of the regions.
Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution further gives every regional state the right to secede from Ethiopia. There is debate, however, as to how much of the power guaranteed in the constitution is actually given to the states.
The councils implement their mandate through an executive committee and regional sectoral bureaus. Such elaborate structure of council, executive, and sectoral public institutions is replicated to the next level (woreda).
|
The regions and chartered cities of Ethiopia, numbered alphabetically. |
The
subdivisions of Ethiopia are:#
Addis Ababa (chartered city)#
Afar#
Amhara #
Benishangul-Gumaz#
Dire Dawa (chartered city)#
Gambela#
Harari#
Oromia#
Somali#
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region#
Tigray |
Woman coffee farmer filling cups with coffee in Ethiopia |
Main article: Economy of Ethiopia
Ethiopia remains one of Africa's poorest nations; many Ethiopians rely on
food aid from abroad.
After the
1974 revolution, the economy of Ethiopia was run as a
socialist economy: strong state controls were implemented, and a large part of the economy was transferred to the public sector, including most modern industry and large-scale commercial agriculture, all agricultural land and urban rental property, and all financial institutions. Since mid-
1991, the economy has evolved toward a decentralized,
market-oriented economy, emphasizing individual initiative, designed to reverse a decade of economic decline. In
1993, gradual privatization of business, industry, banking, agriculture, trade, and commerce was underway.
Nevertheless, Ethiopia is not fully privatized. The ruling EPRDF controls more than fifty large business enterprises in Ethiopia, following the Chinese model. Some of the enterprises are Ambasel, Guna, Tikur Abay, Dinsho, Mega, etc. Many government owned properties during the previous regime have now been transferred to these EPRDF owned enterprises in the name of privatization. Furthermore, the Ethiopian constitution defines the right to own land as belonging only to "the state and the people," but citizens may only lease land (up to 99 years), unable to mortgage, sell, or own it.[
1]
Agriculture accounts for almost 41 percent of the
gross domestic product (GDP), 80 percent of exports, and 80 percent of the labor force. Many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, processing, and export of agricultural products. Production is overwhelmingly of a subsistence nature, and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector. Principal crops include
coffee,
pulses (
e.g., beans),
oilseeds,
cereals, potatoes,
sugarcane, and vegetables. Exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities, and coffee is the largest foreign exchange earner. Ethiopia's
livestock population is believed to be the largest in Africa, and as of
1987 accounted for about 15 percent of the GDP.
Ethiopia's population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a
Semitic or
Cushitic language. The
Oromo,
Amhara, and
Tigrayans make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members.
Semitic-speaking Ethiopians and Eritreans collectively refer to themselves as
Habesha or
Abesha, though others reject these names on the basis that they refer only to certain ethnicities
[Abesha.com - About us]. The
Arabic form of this term is the etymological basis of "Abyssinia," the former name of Ethiopia in English and other European languages.
[Time Europe - Abyssinia: Ethiopian Protest 9 August 1926].
According to the Ethiopian national census of 1994, the
Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia at 32.1%. The
Amhara represent 30.2%, while the
Tigray people are 6.2% of the population. Other ethnic groups are as follows:
Somali 6.0%,
Gurage 4.3%,
Sidama 3.4%,
Wolayta 2%,
Afar 2%,
Hadiya 2%,
Gamo 1%.
[Berhanu Abegaz, Ethiopia: A Model Nation of Minorities (accessed 6 April 2006)][Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington, DC (accessed 6 April 2006)]Languages
Ethiopia has 84 indigenous languages. Some of these include:
English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is taught in all secondary schools.
Amharic was the language of primary school instruction, but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as
Oromifa and
Tigrinya.
Religion
According to the 1994 national census
, Christians make up 61.6% of the country's population, Muslims 32.8%, and adherents of traditional faiths 5.6%.
The
Axumite Kingdom was one of the first nations to officially adopt
Christianity, when St.
Frumentius of
Tyre converted
Ezana of Axum during the
fourth century AD. Today, the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, part of
Oriental Orthodoxy, is by far the largest denomination, though a number of
Protestant churches have recently gained ground. Since the
18th century there has existed a relatively small
Uniate Ethiopian Catholic Church in
full communion with
Rome, which covers a small percentage of the total population of the country.
Islam in Ethiopia dates back almost to the founding of the religion; in 616, when a band of Muslims were counseled by the Prophet Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to Abyssinia, which was ruled by, in the Prophet Muhammad's estimation, a pious Christian king. Moreover, Islamic tradition states that
Bilal, one of the foremost companions of the Prophet Muhammad, was from present-day Ethiopia.
There are numerous indigenous
African religions in Ethiopia. In general, most of the (largely members of the
non-Chalcedonian Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
Christians live in the highlands, while
Muslims and adherents of traditional African religions tend to inhabit lowland regions. A small ancient group of
Jews, the
Beta Israel, live in Ethiopia in the Northwest, though most have emigrated to
Israel in the last decades of the 20th century as part of the rescue missions undertaken by the Israeli government,
Operation Moses and
Operation Solomon.[
2]
Ethiopia is also the spiritual homeland of the
Rastafari movement, whose adherents believe Ethiopia is
Zion. The Rastafari view
Emperor Haile Selassie I as
Jesus, the human incarnation of God, a view apparently not shared by Haile Selassie I himself, who was staunchly Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. The concept of Zion is also prevalent among Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, though it represents a separate and complex concept, referring figuratively to St.
Mary, but also to Ethiopia as a bastion of Christianity surrounded by Muslims and Pagans, much like
Mount Zion in the bible. It is also used to refer to
Axum, the ancient capital and religious center of Orthodox Christians, or to its primary church, called
Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Ethiopia
|
Typical Ethiopian cuisine: Injera (pancake-like bread) and several kinds of wat (stew). |
Ethiopian cuisine consists of various vegetable or meat side dishes and entrees, usually a
wat or thick stew, served atop
injera, a large
sourdough flatbread. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses injera to scoop up the entrees and side dishes. Traditional Ethiopian cuisine employs no
pork of any kind, as both
Muslims and
Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are prohibited from eating pork.
The
Music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of the country's 80 tribes being associated with unique sounds. Ethiopian music uses a unique
modal system that is
pentatonic, with characteristically long intervals between some notes. Influences include ancient Christian elements and
Muslim and
folk music from elsewhere in the
Horn of Africa, especially
Somalia. Popular musicians included
Mahmoud Ahmed,
Tilahun Gessesse,
Asnaketch Worku, and
Mulatu Astatke.
Ethiopia offers a greater richness in archaeological findings and historical buildings than any other country in Sub-Saharan Africa. In April
2005, the
Axum obelisk, one of Ethiopia's religious and historical treasures, was returned to Ethiopia by
Italy [Obelisk arrives back in Ethiopia BBC 19 April 2005]. Under the orders of dictator
Benito Mussolini, Italian troops seized the obelisk in
1937 and took it to
Rome. Italy agreed to return the obelisk in
1947 in a
UN agreement.
Ethiopia has some of the finest athletes of the world, most notably
middle-distance and
long-distance runners.
Kenya and
Morocco are often its opponents in
World Championships and
Olympic middle and long-distance events. As of March 2006, two Ethiopians dominate the long-distance running scene, mainly:
Haile Gebreselassie (World champion and Olympic champion) who has broken more than 10
World records and currently holds the 20 km,
Half Marathon, and 25 km world record, and young
Kenenisa Bekele (World champion, World cross country champion, and Olympic champion), who holds the 5,000 m and 10,000 m world records.
Other notable Ethiopian distance-runners include
Derartu Tulu ,
Abebe Bikila and
Muruse Yefter. Tulu was the first black woman from Africa to win an Olympic gold medal, doing so over 10,000 metres at Barcelona. Bikila won the Olympic marathon in 1960 and 1964, setting world records both times. He is well-known to this day for winning the 1960 marathon in Rome while running barefoot. Yifter, the first in a tradition of Ethiopians known for their brilliant finishing speed, won gold at 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the Moscow Olympics. He is the last man to achieve this feat.
* Pankhurst, Dr. Richard.
*
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List of Ethiopian companies*
Military of Ethiopia*
Monarchies of Ethiopia*
National parks in Ethiopia*
Communications in Ethiopia*
Transportation in Ethiopia*
Ethiopia Scout Association*
Universities and colleges in Ethiopia*
Insightful documentary on the history of Ethiopia*
Filmic Documentaries about Ethiopia*
meetethiopia.com Portal that introduces and celebrates the rich history, culture and diversity of Ethiopia through the use of a repository that contains Ethiopia-related websites ranging from Arts, Society and Religion to Entertainment, Shopping and Technology
Government
*
Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington DC information about the Ethiopian government
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia*
Ministry of Information of Ethiopia*
The Crown Council of Ethiopia official monarchy site
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The Parliament of Ethiopia official site
News
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Free the Imprisoned LeadersJustice in Ethiopia: A Victim of Political Intrigue and Expediency
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Ethiomedia Reflects the Views of United Ethiopians
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Nazret.com Ethiopian News Portal Daily Ethiopian News and Blog
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Amharic news portal Daily amharic news - ዜ" በአማርኛ
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Addis Tribune newspaper with a weekly online edition
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CyberEthiopia Portal on Ethiopia including daily news
Blogs
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Stand for Silenced EthiopiansResistance to the EPRDF Divide and Rule Policy
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Urael Daily Blog from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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AddisFerenji AddisFerenji Blog on nazret.com
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Ethiopian Politics Analysis, commentary and news of current political events in Ethiopia.
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Ethio PunditEclectic Ethiopian & Ethio-American Commentary
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WeichegudA safe-ish haven for Ethiopian Politics unbridled, unhinged and unfettered
Tourism
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Ethiopian Tourism Commission government agency
*
Academia
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Tsehai Conferences Tsehai Conferences' "The State of Ethiopian Affairs and the Diaspora" annual conference is organized by the
International Journal of Ethiopian Studies and the
Ethiopian Institute for Nonviolence Education and Peace Studies. The main objective of this conference is to provide an international forum which brings academia, researchers, practitioners, civic and political leaders, artists and service providers together to discuss the State of Ethiopian affairs at home and in the diaspora.
