The Workers' Party of Ethiopia's 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. Amharic (አማርኛ) is a Semitic language spoken in Northern Central Ethiopia, where it is the official language. ...
A Communist party is a party which promotes Communism. ...
1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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. ...
The Commission to Organise the Party of the Workers of Ethiopia Following the 1974 revolution that led to Haile Selassie's ouster and eventual death in prison, the Soviet Union began to pressure the Derg to create a civilian based vanguard party. Mengistu Haile Mariam, leader of the Derg and head of state of Ethiopia, argued against such a party, stating that the revolution had succeeded without one and that there was no need. However, by the late 1970s, in the face of increasing armed opposition to the Derg's rule, it became increasingly apparent that a civilian party would be required to gain any measure of control over the population. In December 1979, Mengistu announced the creation of the Commission to Organise the Party of the Workers of Ethiopia. 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...
Haile Selassie Haile Selassie (Power of Trinity) (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was the last Emperor (1930–1936; 1941–1974) of Ethiopia, and is a religious symbol in the Rastafarian movement. ...
The Derg was the ruling committee of Ethiopia from 1974 until 1987. ...
A civilian is a person who is not a member of a military. ...
A vanguard party is a political party at the forefront of an action or movement, often seeking to create a single-party state. ...
Mengistu Haile Mariam (born 1937) was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. ...
Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution...
December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ...
1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ...
A number of mass organisations, such as the Revolutionary Ethiopia Youth Association, were also established. It was hoped that these organisations would help lead to a unified party that would eliminate sectarianism and be based on broad (yet clearly defined) class interests. The organisations were also to act as the political consciousness of Ethiopia at a more personal level by not only representing Ethiopians at congresses, but also in the workplace and in educational institutes. Membership in multiple mass organisations was encouraged. Sectarianism is an adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination, it also usually involves a rejection of those not a member of ones sect. ...
A social class is, at its most basic, a group of people that have similar social status. ...
Politics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. ...
A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ...
The COPWE held three congresses for the mass organisations it had set up, and despite the best efforts of the government to encourage diversity, more than one third of those present at the first congress, in 1980, were either soldiers or Addis Ababa residents. 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...
Addis Ababa (Amharic new flower) is the capital of Ethiopia. ...
The 1980 congress unveiled the membership of the COPWE's Central Committee and Secretariat. The Secretariat, which controlled the more day to day aspects of the Central Committee business and was supervised by the top Derg leadership, was composed of mainly civilian ideologues. Regional branches of the Secretariat coordinated by army officers helped complement the COPWE's central leadership. The organisation became more powerful with the 1981 creation of separate offices for administrator and COPWE representative in each region. The 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China meets in 2002 The Central Committee is a leading body of an organization, most often a political party, especially Communist parties. ...
Secretariat may refer to: a racehorse who won the Triple Crown in 1973, see Secretariat (racehorse) In a Communist Party, a Secretariat is a key body that controls the central administration of the party, and if it is a ruling party, the country. ...
An ideology is a collection of ideas. ...
1981 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...
By 1983, there were about 50,000 COPWE members and approximately 6,500 party cells. Despite Mengistu's earlier calls for ideological purity and the need for "committed communists", ideology soon became a simple façade for the Derg's efforts to eliminate its political opponents regardless of actual political beliefs, and loyalty to the Derg was preferred over dedication to Marxism-Leninism in considerations for party membership. By this time, the military and police had also become the majority in the membership of the Central Committee, with 79 of its 123 members being soldiers, twenty of whom were also Derg members. 1983 is an integer and composite number that represents a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ...
The formation of the vanguard party The Workers' Party of Ethiopia was finally established on September 12, 1984, to mark the tenth anniversary of the revolution. The COPWE was dissolved and the WPE took its place. The Central Committee was expanded to 183 members, with party congresses every five years. Mengistu became general secretary. September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ...
the term General Secretary (alternatively First Secretary) denotes a leader of various unions, parties or associations. ...
The WPE's Politburo, which replaced the COPWE's Executive Committee as Ethiopia's chief decision making body, had eleven members, seven of whom were drawn from the Derg and the remaining four being civilian ideologues and technocrats. Generally, Mengistu's wishes prevailed over any opposition. The nepotism involved in the selection of Politburo members meant that opposition to Mengistu was usually marginal anyway, making the entire council more of a mouthpiece for Mengistu's wishes than a legitimate government body. Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ...
Technocrat can refer to: A member of the technocratic movement, a future-oriented movement that supports the control of technology for the benefit of humanity. ...
Nepotism is the act of favoring ones family members in a situation where doing so is considered inappropriate. ...
At a national level, membership of the WPE was heavily slanted towards soldiers and members of certain ethnic groups that had, historically, endorsed the concept of a unified "greater Ethiopia", such as the Tigray and Amhara. However, at regional and local levels, ethnicity and military service became less relevant, with large numbers of civilians and members of various ethnicities in positions of power. Tigray is the northern-most of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. ...
Amhara is an ethnicity of people in the central highlands of Ethiopia, numbering about 15 million, 27% of the countrys population. ...
The WPE's position as "formulator of the country's development process and the leading force of the state and in society" was enshrined into law by the 1987 Ethiopian constitution, which also dissolved the Derg and renamed the country the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The constitution gave the party more political power than the government itself, with local party leaders given almost a free reign provided their policies did not conflict with Addis Ababa's.
Demise Following Mengistu's ouster by an armed insurrection and the end of Soviet support in 1990, the WPE's power began to unravel, and the party officially renounced Marxism and stepped down from power. It continues to run in Ethiopian elections, though without a great deal of success. See Election (movie) for the film directed by Alexander Payne. ...
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