Girma Wolde-Giorgis (; 28 December 1924 – 15 December 2018) was an Ethiopian politician who was the

president of Ethiopia The president of Ethiopia is the head of state of Ethiopia. The position is largely ceremonial with executive power vested in the Council of Ministers (Ethiopia), Council of Ministers chaired by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, prime minister. T ...

from 2001 to 2013. He was the second person to hold the office of president since the founding of the

Federal Democratic Republic of 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 ...

in 1995.

Early life

Girma was born on 28 December 1924 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 ...

. He first attended an

Ethiopian Orthodox Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

school and later joined the Teferi Mekonnen School in Addis Ababa where he followed his education until the Italian invasion. The school was then renamed Scuola Principe di Piemonte (Prince of Piedmonte School) for the Crown Prince of Italy. Between 1950 and 1952, he received certificates in

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

(from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

), in

air traffic management file:ATMANS.png, 334x334px, Air traffic management (ATM) aims at ensuring the safe and efficient flow of air traffic. It encompasses three types of services: * air traffic services (ATS) including air traffic control (ATC), air traffic advisory s ...

(in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

) and

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

(in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

) under a training programme sponsored by the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

(

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

). He was one of the first Ethiopians in the

Ethiopian Air Force The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during wa ...

, which had been dominated by American technicians. Girma tried to motivate Ethiopians to join the airlines and wrote a book on fundamentals. He was an activist and at the Inter Parliamentary Summit in Yugoslavia, he condemned the apartheid system in South Africa. Girma spoke Afan Oromo (Oromiffa),

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

, and English fluently.

Political career

Girma was elected president on 8 October 2001, as a relatively unknown and a surprising choice, by a

unanimous Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...

vote of the

Ethiopian Parliament The Federal Parliamentary Assembly () is the federal legislature of Ethiopia. It consists of two chambers: *The House of Federation (upper chamber) *The House of Peoples' Representatives (lower chamber) Created with the adoption of the Ethi ...

. The Ethiopian presidency is largely a symbolic office with little power. Most of the power is vested in the hands of the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. Presidents serve two six-year

terms Term may refer to: Language *Terminology, context-specific nouns or compound words **Technical term (or ''term of art''), used by specialists in a field ***Scientific terminology, used by scientists *Term (argumentation), part of an argument in d ...

. He was re-elected as president on 9 October 2007.

Personal life

He was married and had five children. He was a member of the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

. He was widely renowned for his usual presence at Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Meskel Demera Festivals. Girma died of natural causes on 15 December 2018, 13 days before his 94th birthday.

Government service

* 1941: Enlisted at the Ethiopian Military Radio Communication set up by the United Kingdom * 1944: Graduated from the Holetta Military Academy as a sub-lieutenant * 1946: Joined the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

in and took various air management courses * 1948: Became assistant teacher in

air navigation The basic principles of air navigation are identical to general navigation, which includes the process of planning, recording, and controlling the movement of a craft from one place to another. Successful air navigation involves piloting an airc ...

and flight control * 1951: Became director general of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Planning at its establishment * 1955: Became head of Civil Aviation of

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

(Eritrea, at the time, was part of the

Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea The Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea was a federation between the former Italian Eritrea, Italian colony of Eritrea (1952–1962), Eritrea and the Ethiopian Empire. It was established as a result of the renunciation of Italy’s rights and tit ...

) * 1957: Assumed the post of

director general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA, ) is an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Government of Ethiopia. It was established under Proclamation No. 273/2002. The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Accident Prevention an ...

and was board member of the

Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines (), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by the country's government. EAL was founded on 21 December 1945 and commenced operations on 8 April 1946, expanding to intern ...

during the same period. * 1961: Became member of the lower house (Chamber of Deputies) of the Imperial Ethiopian Parliament * Elected speaker of the lower house (Chamber of Deputies) of the Imperial Ethiopian Parliament for three consecutive years. * Helped win a seat for the Ethiopian Parliament in the

International Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

and attended conferences of the IPU in Switzerland, Denmark and former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and was elected as vice president of the 52nd Meeting of the International Parliamentary Union. * Served as manager of the Import and Export Enterprise (IMPEX). * Served as deputy commissioner of the Peace Programme drawn up in 1977 by the provisional military government of Ethiopia (Derg) to settle the Eritrean problem peacefully. * 2000: Became member of the

House of Peoples' Representatives The House of Peoples' Representatives is the lower house of the Ethiopian Federal Parliamentary Assembly. Located in the capital Addis Ababa, the House has 547 members. All are elected in theory for five-year term in single-seat constituencies. ...

of the

(FDRE) after winning in the

Becho Becho is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Southwest Shewa Zone, Becho is bordered on the south by Saden Sodo, on the west by Waliso, on the northwest by Dawo, on the north by Elu, and on the east by Tole. The ...

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...

constituency, Mirab Shewa Zone of the

Oromia Region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

, as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

in the second round elections

Experience in non-governmental offices

Between 1965 and 1974: * Board member of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce * Representative for Australian Trade Mission in Ethiopia * Founder and director of the Ghibe Agricultural Association * Founder and director of the Keffa and Illubabor Timber Processing Industry While in the then province of Eritrea before 1990: * President of the

Ethiopian Red Cross Society The Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) (, (ኢ.ቀ.መ.ማ.)is a humanitarian organization working in partnership with the Ethiopian government the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societie (IFRC), the International Comm ...

– Eritrea Branch (Asmara) * Board president of Cheshire Home * Managing director of Leprosy Control Organization Upon returning to Addis Ababa in 1990, he served as board member of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and head of its International Logistics Department. He launched an environmental protection association called Lem Ethiopia in March 1992 and has served as its vice president. Two days before Ethiopian Christmas, on 5 January 2014 he made a clear statement on Ethiopia TV, calling for pacification between Ethiopia and Eritrea, calling it his last personal task and fight. He is coordinating from his office a group of people trying to launch peace talks, after fifteen years of disagreements, culminating in the

Eritrean–Ethiopian War The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 6, 1998 to June 18, 2000. After 1993 Eritrean independence referendum, Eritrea gained independence from E ...

of 1998–2000.

Official biography

Indian author Sivakumar K.P. has produced the official biography of Girma Wolde Giorgis. The book, ''Under the Shade of a Gaashe'', was released on 15 July 2015 at the official residence of the former president. Micro Business College is the publisher of the Ethiopian edition. The author acknowledges the role o
Abera Tilahun
founder and president of Micros Business College in Ambo in introducing him to the former president and financing the publishing of the book.

References

External links

The Life of Girma Wolde Giorgis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girma Wolde-Giorgis 1924 births 2018 deaths Ethiopian Air Force personnel Ethiopian Orthodox Christians Ethiopian Oriental Orthodox Christians Oromo people Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front politicians Members of the House of Peoples' Representatives People from Addis Ababa Presidents of Ethiopia