conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
conventional short form: Ethiopia
local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik
local short form: Ityop'iya
abbreviation: FDRE

ET

federal republic

Addis Ababa

9 ethnically-based administrative regions
(astedader akababiwach, singular - astedader akabibi) and 2 chartered
cities*: Addis Ababa*; Afar; Amhara, Benishangul/Gumaz; Dire Dawa*;
Gambela; Harar; Oromia; Somali; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and
Peoples Region; Tigray

oldest independent country in Africa and one of the
oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years

National Day, 28 May (1991) (defeat of MENGISTU
regime)

ratified December 1994; effective 22 August 1995

currently transitional mix of national and regional
courts

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: President NEGASSO Gidada (since 22 August 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA August 1995)
cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994
constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and
approved by the House of People's Representatives
elections: president elected by the House of People's Representatives
for a six-year term; election last held NA June 1995 (next to be held
NA May 2001); prime minister designated by the party in power
following legislative elections
election results: NEGASSO Gidada elected president; percent of vote by
the House of People's Representatives - NA

bicameral Parliament consists of the House of
Federation or upper chamber (117 seats; members are chosen by state
assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's
Representatives or lower chamber (548 seats; members are directly
elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve
five-year terms)
elections: regional and national popular elections were held in May
and June 1995 (next to be held NA May 2000)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - EPRDF 483, regional
political groupings 46, independents 8; note - 11 seats unconfirmed
note: many opposition groups, including the Oromo Liberation Front,
boycotted the election

Federal Supreme Court; the president and vice
president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime
minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for
other federal judges, the prime minister submits candidates selected
by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council to the House of
People's Representatives for appointment

All-Amhara People's Organization or
AAPO ; Coalition of Alternative Forces for Peace
and Democracy or CAFPD ; Ethiopian Democratic Union or EDU
; Ethiopian Movement for Democracy, Peace, and Unity or
EMDPU ; Ethiopian National Democratic Party or ENDP
; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Democratic Front or EPRDF ; Oromo Liberation Front or
OLF ; dozens of small parties

Southern Ethiopia People's
Democratic Coalition; numerous small, ethnically based groups have
formed since the defeat of the former MENGISTU regime in 1991,
including several Islamic militant groups

ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO,
G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU,
OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO

chief of mission: Ambassador BERHANE Gebre-Christos
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:  (202) 234-2281
FAX:  (202) 328-7950

chief of mission: Ambassador Tibor P. NAGY
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
telephone:  (1) 550666
FAX:  (1) 551328

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow,
and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from
the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the
three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and
the colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African
countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African
colors