Captain Alemayehu Haile (died 3 February 1977) was a member of the

Derg The Derg or Dergue (, ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when they formally "Civil government, civilianized" the ...

, the military junta that ruled

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

from 1974 to 1987. An Amhara, Alemayehu was a graduate of the Dina Police College in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

and of Haile Selassie University (now

Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa University (; AAU) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, and one is located in Bishoftu, about away. ...

); his education leads the Ottaways to suspect that this was a factor in his feud with

Mengistu Haile Mariam Mengistu Haile Mariam (, pronunciation: ; born 21 May 1937) is an Ethiopian former politician, revolutionary, and military officer who served as the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He was General Secretary of the Workers' Party o ...

. He comment that he "was certainly no moderate and as remembered by his university professors as a very articulate, argumentative student who believed in radical policies as the only means to bring even moderate change to a feudal country such as Ethiopia."Marina and David Ottaway, ''Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution'' (New York: Africana, 1978), p. 136 At the time of the Ethiopian Revolution, Alemayehu was a member of the Ethiopian police force. He was a key member of the Derg and was chairman of the Committee for Administrative Affairs. After the reorganization of the Derg announced on 29 December 1976, Alemayehu became Secretary-General, "a post with such ill-defined limits that it could confer vast powers." In short, Alemayehu Haile appeared at this point to be the most powerful member of the Derg, more powerful than his rival Mengistu. However, according to LaFort, Almayahu made a critical mistake by underestimating or even despising Mengistu; "it was out of the question that he would passively accept his personal elimination and the defeat of his views." And the events of 3 February 1977 put Mengistu back in control. At a meeting between Mengistu and his opponents, who included not only Alemayehu Haile but chairman General

Tafari Benti Brigadier General Tafari Benti (; 11 October 1921 – 3 February 1977) was an Ethiopian military officer and politician who served as head of state of Ethiopia from 1974 to 1977 in his role as second chairman of the Derg, the ruling military jun ...

and a number of leading members of the Derg, military soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Asfaw rounded them up and arrested them. He was summarily executed with the others after a short while. Mengistu afterwards broadcast on Radio Ethiopia that Almayahu and his dead compatriots had attempted a "fascist coup d'etat in the capital identical to what had taken place in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

", and labeling them "fifth columnists" of the

Ethiopian Democratic Union The Ethiopian Democratic Union (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ህብረት) or EDU, also known as Teranafit (formerly a separate group based in Shire before it merged with the EDU), was one of the political parties that formed ...

and

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) (), informally known as Ihapa (), is the first modern political party in Ethiopia. Established in April 1972, it aimed to turn Ethiopia into a democratic republic. Both the EPRP and another pa ...

rebel groups.Ottaway, ''Empire in Revolution'', pp. 142f

Notes

1977 deaths Ethiopian politicians Year of birth missing People of the Ethiopian Civil War Ethiopian military personnel {{Ethiopia-bio-stub