Sebhat Ephrem ( Tigrinya: ስብሓት ኤፍረም; born 1951) is an Eritrean military officer and politician who is the Minister of Energy and Mines for

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 ...

. He was also the former Minister of Defence and former

Eritrean People's Liberation Front The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the Eritrean War of Independence, independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1 ...

(EPLF) commander during the

Eritrean War of Independence The Eritrean War of Independence was an War, armed conflict and insurgency aimed at achieving self-determination and independence for Eritrea from Ethiopian rule. Starting in 1961, Eritrean insurgents engaged in guerrilla warfare to liberate ...

Early life

Sebhat Ephrem was born in

Aksum Axum, also spelled Aksum (), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Regi ...

, Ethiopia to Eritrean parents from

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

. His father was a Protestant-educated hospital administrator and Sebhat attended the Evangelical Lutheran School in

. He later studied pharmacy at

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. ...

for two years before joining the EPLF in 1972.

Military career

He quickly rose up the ranks from a political commissar to becoming part of the executive committee in 1977. He became the General Staff of the EPLA in 1986 and was credited as the leading strategist of the victories at Afabet, Massawa and Dekemhare. After liberation Sebhat Ephrem served from June 1992 to March 1994 as the Governor of Asmara. From March 1994 to May 1995 he served as the Minister of Health. In both positions he brought structure and reorganization to these offices. After leaving the military in June 1992, he returned to the army in May 1995 with the rank of general and was appointed and confirmed as Minister of Defense. It is believed that in 1998 he was the only 4-star general in the Eritrean Defence forces.

References

Eritrean soldiers Living people 1951 births People's Front for Democracy and Justice politicians Government ministers of Eritrea Eritrean People's Liberation Front members People of the Ethiopian Civil War {{Africa-mil-bio-stub