Meles Zenawi

Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Legesse Zenawi Asres 9 May 1955 Adwa, Tigray province, Ethiopian Empire

20 August 2012(2012-08-20) (57) Brussels, Belgium

23 August 1995 – 20 August 2012

President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 to 2012 This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by their given name, Meles, and not as Zenawi. Meles Zenawi Asres (Tigrinya: መለስ ዜናዊ ኣስረስ, mäläs zenawi asräs; pronounced  listen  (help ·info ) , born Legesse Zenawi Asres; 9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012) was an Ethiopian soldier and politician who ruled Ethiopia as President from 1991 to 1995 and as Prime Minister from 1995 until his death in 2012. He was considered the founder of ethnic federalism, which is followed in modern Ethiopia. After leading the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to victory in the Ethiopian Civil War, he served as President of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995, then as the 2nd Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 to his death in 2012. From 1989, he was the chairman of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the head of the EPRDF since its formation in 1988. In 1975, he left Haile Selassie I University to join the TPLF and fight against the Derg (the Mengistu Haile Mariam-led military dictatorship in Ethiopia). After the overthrow of the Derg's military government, he became president of the transitional government and later prime minister. During his tenure, Ethiopia became one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.