The National Shengo (, ) was the

highest organ of state power The supreme state organ of power, also known as the highest state organ of power, is the representative organ in communist states that functions as the sole branch of government according to the principle of unified power. For example, the governm ...

of the

People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE; ) was a socialist state that existed in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea from 1987 to 1991. The PDRE was established in February 1987 as a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist one-party state upo ...

(PDRE) from 1987 to 1991.

Overview

The Shengo was established on 22 February 1987, three weeks after a national referendum approved a new constitution making Ethiopia a

one-party A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically ...

under the leadership of the Communist

Workers' Party of Ethiopia The Workers' Party of Ethiopia (, WPE) was a Marxist–Leninist communist party in Ethiopia from 1984 to 1991 led by General Secretary Mengistu Haile Mariam. The Workers' Party of Ethiopia was founded in 1984 by the Derg, the ruling provision ...

(WPE). The Shengo's 835 members were elected to five-year terms in the 30 June 1987 general elections, in which the WPE won 795 seats and pro-WPE independents won the remaining 40 seats. The Shengo became the highest organ of state power in the newly formed PDRE when it convened for the first time on 9 September 1987. Executive power was vested in the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, elected by the Shengo for a five-year term, and a cabinet also appointed by the Shengo. The president was the ''ex officio'' chairman of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, the country's supreme executive body. The Council of State was formally defined as a permanent standing body of the National Shengo. It acted for the legislature between sessions (in practice, for most of the year), during which it was empowered to issue "special decrees" in lieu of law. If such decrees did not get the consent of the Shengo at its next session, they were considered revoked. Actual power, however, rested in the WPE—and particularly 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 ...

, who served as both president of the republic and general secretary of the WPE. On paper, the National Shengo was vested with great lawmaking and oversight powers. It had the right to act on "any national issue," and all national officials were nominally subordinate to it. Members of the Shengo had the right to ask questions of mass organizations and state organs to which they were required to respond. In practice, as with other Communist legislatures, the principles of

democratic centralism Democratic centralism is the organisational principle of most communist parties, in which decisions are made by a process of vigorous and open debate amongst party membership, and are subsequently binding upon all members of the party. The co ...

reduced the Shengo to merely a rubber stamp for decisions already made by Mengistu and the WPE. For example, while Mengistu was required to submit his nominations for cabinet ministers, Supreme Court justices and members of the executive staff for approval by the Shengo, this approval was almost always a formality. Additionally, the Shengo's nominal power of veto over the Council of State's "special decrees" was rarely exercised, meaning these decrees de facto had the force of law.

Abolition

In May 1991, with the

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front 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 ...

(EPRDF) closing in on

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 ...

, Mengistu fled into exile. His government only survived him for a week before the EPRDF took the capital. The EPRDF immediately disbanded the Workers' Party and the Shengo. In July the

Transitional Government of Ethiopia The Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) was an era established immediately after the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) seized power from the Marxist-Leninist People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) in 1991. ...

was formed.

References

{{reflist History of the government of Ethiopia Defunct unicameral legislatures 1987 establishments in Ethiopia 1991 disestablishments in Ethiopia