1. Country background

from 1974 until 1991, and finally the

Government is responsible for foreign

current Federal Democratic Republic.

affairs, defence and economic policy,

while the other functions are

The first democratic elections, both

delegated to the regions. Regions are

federal and regional, were held in

further divided into zones, woreda

1995 and the Federal Democratic

(districts), kebele (communities or

Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) was finally

farmer associations). There are about

declared on 22 August 1995, after a

550 Woreda in the country and

four year transitional government: for

government generally aims to reach

the first time in the country's long and

down to this level.

rich history, the Ethiopian peoples

were living under a government of

In the 2000 elections, the Ethiopian

their own choosing, and had a strong

People's Revolutionary Democratic

voice in government at the local,

Front, the same party which brought

regional, and federal levels.

down the Government of Colonel

Mengistu in 1991, won a majority in

A Constitution was created, based on

the House of People's Representatives

the Universal Declaration of Human

with 472 seats out of a total of 548.

Rights, political power was

Since the Republic has been declared,

decentralized and the country was

new economic policies have been

divided to nine regional

brought into effect by the

administrations (Tigre, Afar, Amhara,

Government, with a view to

Oromia, Somali, Benishangul,

revitalizing the country's economy

Gambela, Harer and Southern), which

through liberalization, privatization,

enjoy considerable autonomy and

and reorganization of different

have the right to secede. The federal

economic sectors.

1  Eyewitness: Where hunger reigns , BBC News Online, 30 April 2000. Online at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_731000/731316.stm.

2 Ethiopian Central Statistical Authority, Population and housing census of Ethiopia, Analysis Report, 1994.

3 The Statesman's Yearbook 2002.

4 COMESA website: http://www.comesa.int/

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