The Ministry of Defense () is a cabinet-level office in charge of defense-related matters 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 ...

. The current minister is Aisha Mohammed since 2024.

History

This institution can trace its origins back to the Ministry of War, which Emperor

Menelik II Menelik II ( ; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም ''sahlä maryam'') was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Et ...

established in 1907, and made ''

Fitawrari Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( , modern transcription , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary royal nobility, formed the upper ...

Habte Giyorgis '' Fitawrari'' Habte Giyorgis Dinagde (; ; c. 1851 – 12 December 1926) also known by his horse name Abbaa Malaa was an Ethiopian military commander and government official who, among several other posts, served as President of the Council o ...

Minister over it. Emperor

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

re-established the Ministry of War in 1942, making '' Ras''

Abebe Aregai '' Ras'' Abebe Aregai (Amharic: አበበ አረጋይ; 18 August 1903 – 17 December 1960) was an Ethiopian military commander who served as Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 27 November 1957 until his death. He was a victim of the unsucces ...

its Minister. The Ministry is headed by a civilian minister which is a requirement of Article 87 of the current constitution of Ethiopia. It was established 23 August 1995 with the passing of Proclamation 4/1995, which also established the other 14 Ministries. On 9 January 2022, a new building of the Ministry of Defense was inaugurated. The five floor building of more than 700 offices and facilities serves now as the headquarters of the ministry, and is located on 13 hectares of land 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 ...

Structure

Source:

Military Industry

*Defense Construction Materials Production Factory * Defense Construction Design Enterprise * Defense Construction Enterprise * Dejen Aviation Engineering Industry *

Homicho Ammunition Engineering Complex Homicho Ammunition Engineering Complex is the part of Metals and Engineering Corporation and is also one of the military production facilities of the Ethiopian Defense Industry Sector. It specializes in producing wide range of ammunition for use b ...

Gafat Armament Engineering Complex Gafat Armament Engineering Complex is an Ethiopian arms industry and one of the military production facilities of the Metals and Engineering Corporation. With its headquarters in Bishoftu, it specializes in producing wide range of infantry equipm ...

National Defense Engineering College

Defense Engineering College was established in 1997 by the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense (MoD) to produce highly professional educational services.

Agencies

*Brana Printing Press

List of ministers

Minister of War/Defence of the
Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak a ...

Minister of Defense of Socialist Ethiopia

Minister of Defense of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1991-present)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{authority control

Defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...