''Aboy'' Sebhat Nega (

Tigrinya Tigrinya may refer to: * Tigrinya language Tigrinya, sometimes romanized as Tigrigna, is an Ethio-Semitic languages, Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic languages, Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It i ...

: ኣቦይ ስብሓት ነጋ; born 1935) is an Ethiopian politician and senior member of the

Tigray People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing Ethnic nationalism, ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a ter ...

(TPLF). Born in

Adwa Adwa (; ; also spelled Adowa or Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian troops, thus being ...

, Sebhat joined TPLF in 1976 to fight 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 ...

regime. After the Derg fell in 1991, he became the head of the EPRDF’s Economic Affairs Department, which oversees the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), a group of TPLF-affiliated companies. He has served in

Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Asres ( Tigringa and ; ), born Legesse Zenawi Asres (8 May 1955 – 20 August 2012) was an Ethiopian politician and former rebel militant commander who served as president of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995 and as prime minister from 19 ...

cabinet and prominent of TPLF classic ideologies. During the Tigray War, Sebhat was one of surviving TPLF officials that have been captured by the Ethiopian government force in his hideout

Kola Tembien Kola Tembien (, "Lower Tembien") is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is named in part after the former province of Tembien. Part of the Mehakelegnaw Zone, Kola Tembien is bordered on the south by Abergele, on the west by the Tekezé River ...

area in the northern Tigray Region. In January 2022, he was pardoned by Prime Minister

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali (; ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who is the current Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 2018 and the leader of the Prosperity Party since 2019. He rose through the ranks of government via the Information Networ ...

in the course of talks with the US special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffry Feltman.

Biography

Sebhat Nega was born in 1935 in

to Tigrayan and Eritrean parents. He is called "Aboy" affectionately meaning "father". In 1997 interview, he recalled moving around with his father who was the governor of

Zana Zana may refer to: Mythological figures * Zână, Zână (Romanian mythology), a female figure in Romanian mythology * Zana (mythology), Zana (Albanian mythology), an Albanian mythological figure Places * Diana Veteranorum or Zana, an ancient ...

district in

Tigray The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. In 1970s, before he cofounded the

(TPLF), Sebhat was graduated in economics, worked for the Finance Ministry, and then as a teacher. After TPLF overthrew the

in 1991, he became the head of the EPRDF’s Economic Affairs Department, which oversees the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), a group of TPLF-affiliated companies. For much of decade, Sebhat served as the chief executive officer of EFFORT and loyalist to

government. While TPLF advocated for Marxist-Leninist idea, Sebhat was the only person who adheres classical TPLF ideologies. In 2008,

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...

released document by U.S diplomatic cables of Sebhat quote, saying "Ethiopia will disintegrate in the absence of the TPLF’s Revolutionary Democracy." Sebhat continued to dismantle controversial statements after Meles' death in 2012, saying Ethiopians were not ready for democracy and that the

EPRDF The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; ) was an ethnic federalist political coalition in Ethiopia that existed from 1989 to 2019. It consisted of four political parties: Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara ...

had been focused on cleansing the state of the remnants of previous national socialist and feudal regimes. During the Tigray War, Sebhat has been captured by the government force operation in his hideout in the rugged

area in the northern

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

. On 21 January 2022, Sebhat was released from prison after US special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffry Feltman made visit to

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 ...

for peaceful talk.

Awards and honors

In July 2016,

Axum University Aksum University (AKU) is a teaching university in Aksum in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It offers teaching programs and research projects which lead toward undergraduate and master's degrees. It was established in February 2007 with the objective of ...

awarded Sibhat an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Leadership and Politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nega, Sebhat 1935 births Tigray People's Liberation Front politicians 20th-century Ethiopian politicians 21st-century Ethiopian politicians People of the Ethiopian Civil War Living people