Imperial Parliament of Ethiopia

Bicameral legislature of the Ethiopian Empire
Imperial Parliament of Ethiopia

የኢትዮጵያ ንጉሠ ነገሥት ፓርላማ
Coat of arms or logo
Emperor Haile Selassie giving a speech from the throne in front of parliament
Type
Type
Bicameral
HousesSenate and Chamber of Deputies
History
Founded1931
Disbanded1974
Succeeded byNational Shengo
Elections
Last Chamber of Deputies election
1973
Meeting place
Ethiopian Parliament Building
Part of a series on the
History of Ethiopia
Lion of Judah
Early history
Prehistory  
Dʿmt 980 – 400 BC
Aksum 100 – 940 AD
Zagwe dynasty 900–1270
Early Solomonic period 1270–1529
Amda Seyon's Expansions 1314–1344
Early modern history
Ethiopian–Adal War 1527–1543
Oromo migrations 1543 – 17th cent.
Habesh Eyalet 1557 – 17th cent.
Gondarine period 1632–1769
Zemene Mesafint 1769–1855
Ottoman border conflict 1832–1848
Modern history
Unification 1855–1913
Menelik's Invasions 1878–1904
First Italo–Ethiopian War 1895–1896
Modernization 1913–1974
World War I 1914–1918
Second Italo–Ethiopian War 1935–1936
Italian East Africa 1936–1941
World War II 1941
Italian guerrilla war 1941–1943
Federation with Eritrea 1952–1962
Eritrean Independence War 1961–1991
Ethiopian Civil War 1974–1991
Ogaden War 1977–1978
Eritrean–Ethiopian War 1998–2000
Eritrean border conflict 1998–2018
Police massacre 2005
War in Somalia 2006–2009
East Africa drought 2011–2012
Oromo protests 2014–2016
Ethiopian civil conflict 2018–present
Tigray War 2020–2022
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The Imperial Parliament of Ethiopia (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ንጉሠ ነገሥት ፓርላማ) was the bicameral legislature of the Ethiopian Empire from 1931 to 1974. It consisted of the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, and the upper house, Senate. The legislature was established in the 1931 Constitution, all members appointed, primarily by the Emperor of Ethiopia. The 1955 Constitution introduced elections to the lower chamber. The Ethiopian Parliament Building was the meeting place of the imperial parliament. The last elections took place in 1973. The legislature was abolished by Derg.

Senate

The Senate, Yaheg Mawossegna Meker-beth(የሕግ መወሰኛ ምክርቤት), was established in 1931. Initially, its members were appointed, and they came from the nobility, the aristocracy, cabinet ministers, and civil servants.[1] The chamber was reformed in the 1955 constitution so that the members were appointed by aristocrats. In 1974, there were 125 members in the chamber.[2]

Senate Presidents

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2022)
Name Took office Left office Notes
Bidwoded Wolde Tsadeq Goshu 1931 1936 [3]
Gebru Desta 1941 ? [4]
Negash Bezabeh 1942 1943
Blattengeta Lorenzo Taezaz 1943 1944
Tsahafe Taezaz Wolde Maskal 1944 1945 [5]
Mangasha Jambare 1945 1946
Ras Bidwoded Makonnen Endelkachew 1957 1961 [6]
Ras Asrate Kassa 1961[7] 1964
Lt-Gen. Abey Abeba 1964 1974 [1][8]

Chamber of Deputies

The Chamber of Deputies, Yaheg Mamria Meker-beth, was established in 1931. Initially, the members were chosen by the Emperor of Ethiopia, the nobility and the aristocrats.[1] The chamber was reformed by the 1955 constitution, and members were to be elected. In 1974, there were 250 members in the chamber.[2]

Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2022)
Name Took office Left office Notes
Blattengeta Belatcho Yadete 1943[9] 1945-? [5]
Grazmatch Gebre Kristos Wolde Michael ?-1953 1953-?
Lij Haile Mariam Kebede 1955 1957
Wossen Hailu 1957 1960 [10]
Girma Wolde-Giorgis 1961 1965 [11]
Fitawrari Bayissa Jemmo ?-1966 1967
Ato Tadesse Taye 1967 1969-? [12]
Ato Seife Taddese 1970 1974 [13]
Ato Abebe Wendimeneh 1974 1974 [14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Prouty, Chris; Rosenfeld, Eugene (1981). Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1448-X.
  2. ^ a b "Elections During the Reign of Emperor Haile Selassie" (PDF). Archived from the original on 9 June 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ Campbell, Ian (2017). The Addis Ababa massacre: Italy's national shame. London: Hurst & Company. ISBN 9781849046923.
  4. ^ Wubneh, Mulatu (1 January 2023). Planning for Cities in Crisis: Lessons from Gondar, Ethiopia. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-031-18416-1.
  5. ^ a b "Image" (PDF).
  6. ^ Ethiopia Observer. 1956.
  7. ^ Ethiopia Observer. 1961.
  8. ^ Shinn, David; Ofcansky, Thomas (2013). Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7457-2.
  9. ^ British Documents on Foreign Affairs--reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Africa, 1944. University Publications of America. 1998. ISBN 978-1-55655-676-0.
  10. ^ Haile Selassie I (1994). My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: Addis Abeba, 1966 E.C. Michigan State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87013-308-4.
  11. ^ Agriculture, United States Congress House Committee on (1965). "Agriculture in Africa, a Report of the Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Operations of ..."
  12. ^ "Bulletin of the Inter-parliamentary Union". The Union. 1966.
  13. ^ "Ethiopia Says Ex-Official Blocked News of Famine". The New York Times. 10 September 1974.
  14. ^ Ǧambaré, ʼAbarā (2005). Agony in the Grand Palace: 1974-1982. Shama Books. ISBN 9781931253147.
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