Encyclopedia > People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) was the official name of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991, as established by the Communist government of Mengistu Haile Mariam and the Workers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE). It dissolved the Derg, the Communist military dictatorship formerly in charge of the country, and established a one-party state with the WPE as supreme authority, though several ex-Derg officials retained posts in the new government. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Communism refers to a theoretical system of social organization and a political movement based on common ownership of the means of production. ... Mengistu Haile Mariam (born 1937) was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. ... The Workers Party of Ethiopias flag The Workers Party of Ethiopia (Amharic: Ye Ityopia Seratepnotch Parti) is a communist party in Ethiopia that was, from 1984 to 1990, the only legal political party in the country. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Augusto Pinochet (sitting) was an army general who led a military coup in Chile in 1973. ... A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system and form of government where only a single political party dominates the government and no opposition parties are allowed. ...
Ethiopia is 1,127,127 km² in size, and is the major portion of the Horn of Africa, which is the eastern-most part of the African landmass.
After the 1974 revolution, the economy of Ethiopia was run as a socialist economy: strong state controls were implemented, and a large part of the economy was transferred to the public sector, including most modern industry and large-scale commercial agriculture, all agricultural land and urban rental property, and all financial institutions.
Ethiopia's livestock population is believed to be the largest in Africa, and as of 1987 accounted for about 15 percent of the GDP.
In 1987 the Derg was formally dissolved and the country became the People'sDemocraticRepublic of Ethiopia under a new constitution.
The reign of the Derg in Ethiopia is remembered for the Ethiopian Red Terror in which the government systematically eliminated its opponents between 1975 and 1977 with executions and imprisonments of tens of thousands without trial.
Although Ethiopia is prone to chronic droughts, no one was prepared for the scale of drought and famine that struck the country in the mid-1980s, in which up to seven million may have died.
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