Mengistu Haile Mariam (redirected from Mengistu Hailemariam)

Mengistu Haile Mariam (mĕnggīs`t hī`lē mär`ēəm), 1937–, military ruler of Ethiopia (1974–91). Mengistu, an army officer, participated prominently in Emperor Haile Selassie's overthrow (1974). Emerging through violence as preeminent military ruler by 1977, he sought Soviet aid, established a socialist People's Republic and fought off Somali incursions and Eritrean rebels. He was elected president in 1987. Regional rebellions increased while Soviet aid receded amid economic deterioration. Mengistu abandoned socialism, but unable to mobilize military resistance, he was forced to flee to Zimbabwe in 1991. He was tried (1994–2006) in absentia for genocide by an Ethiopian court, convicted, and sentenced (2007) to life in prison.

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Mengistu Haile Mariam

(born 1937, Kefa province, Eth.) Ethiopian army officer and head of state (1974–91). Mengistu headed a group of rebel soldiers that overthrew Haile Selassie (1974). After assassinating his rivals, Mengistu became the new regime's acknowledged strongman. By 1978 he had crushed a major rebellion in Eritrea and, with Soviet and Cuban help, an invasion of the Ogaden region by the Somalis. In the 1980s he faced new rebellions in Eritrea and Tigray, and devastating droughts and famines drew attention to his failed agricultural policies. With the withdrawal of Soviet support in 1991, his power was weakened and he fled to Zimbabwe. Tried in absentia, Mengistu was found guilty of genocide in late 2006 and was given a life sentence the following year.