Ministry of Defense (Ethiopia)

The Ministry of Defense (Amharic: የመከላከያ ሚኒስቴር, romanized: yemekelakeya mīnīsitēri) is a cabinet-level office in charge of defense-related matters of Ethiopia. The current minister is Aisha Mohammed since 2024.^[1]

Ministry of Defense

የመከላከያ ሚኒስቴር Ministeera Raayyaa Ittisa Biyyaa (Itoophiyaa)
Agency overview
Formed	August 23, 1995 (1995-08-23)
Jurisdiction	Government of Ethiopia
Headquarters	Addis Ababa
Agency executives	Aisha Mohammed, Minister of Defence Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Chief of the General Staff
Child agency	Defense Industry Sector
Website	mod.gov.et

History

This institution can trace its origins back to the Ministry of War, which Emperor Menelik II established in 1907, and made Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis Minister over it.^[2] Emperor Haile Selassie re-established the Ministry of War in 1942, making Ras Abebe Aregai its Minister.^[3] The Ministry is headed by a civilian minister which is a requirement of Article 87 of the current constitution of Ethiopia. It was established 23 August 1995 with the passing of Proclamation 4/1995, which also established the other 14 Ministries.^[4]

On 9 January 2022, a new building of the Ministry of Defense was inaugurated. The five floor building of more than 700 offices and facilities serves now as the headquarters of the ministry, and is located on 13 hectares of land in Addis Ababa.^[5][6]

Structure

Source:^[7]

Military Industry

Main article: Defense Industry Sector (Ethiopia)

• Defense Construction Materials Production Factory
• Defense Construction Design Enterprise
• Defense Construction Enterprise

• Dejen Aviation Engineering Industry
• Homicho Ammunition Engineering Complex
• Gafat Armament Engineering Complex

National Defense Engineering College

Defense Engineering College was established in 1997 by the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense (MoD) to produce highly professional educational services.^[8]

Agencies

• Brana Printing Press

List of ministers

Minister of War/Defence of the Ethiopian Empire

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Political party		Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Habte Giyorgis	1907	1926	19 years		Independent
2		Mulugeta Yeggazu	1926	1936	10 years		Independent
3		Birru Walda Gabriel	1936	1942	6 years		Independent	[3]
4		Abiye Abebe	1943	1947	4 years		Independent
5		Abebe Aregai	1947	1949	2 years		Independent
		Abiye Abebe	1949	1955	6 years		Independent
		Abebe Aregai	1955	17 December 1960	5 years		Independent
		Lieutenant General Merid Mengesha	17 December 1960	1966	6 years		Independent	[9][10][11][12]
		Lieutenant General Kebede Gebre	1966	28 February 1974	8 years		Independent	[13][14]
		Abiye Abebe	28 February 1974	22 July 1974	4 months		Independent	[10]

Minister of Defense of Socialist Ethiopia

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Political party		Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Major General Aman Andom	22 July 1974	17 November 1974	4 years		Workers' Party of Ethiopia	[15]
2		Ambassador Ayelew Mandefro	6 December 1974	19 September 1977				[16]
3		Brigadier General Taye Tilahun	19 September 1977	January 1980
4		Lieutenant General Tesfaye Gebre Kidan	January 1980	14 May 1988	7 years		Workers' Party of Ethiopia	[17][18][19]
5		Major General Haile Giorgis Habte Mariam	14 May 1988	16 May 1989	1 year		Workers' Party of Ethiopia	[17][20]

Minister of Defense of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1991-present)

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Political party		Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
		Siye Abraha	1991	1995	4 years
		Tamrat Layne	1995	?				[21]
		Abadula Gemeda (born 1958)	16 October 2001	2005	3–4 years		Oromo Democratic Party
		Kuma Demeksa (born 1958)	2005	30 October 2008	2–3 years		Oromo Democratic Party
		Siraj Fegessa (born 1971)	30 October 2008	16 October 2018	10 years, 170 days		SEPDM
		Aisha Mohammed (born 1970)	16 October 2018	18 April 2019	184 days		ARDUF
		Lemma Megersa (born 1970)	18 April 2019	18 August 2020	1 year, 122 days		Oromo Democratic Party
		Kenea Yadeta	18 August 2020	6 October 2021	1 year, 49 days		Independent
		Abraham Belay	6 October 2021	20 May 2024	2 years, 227 days		Prosperity Party
		Aisha Mohammed	20 May 2024	Incumbent	294 days		ARDUF

See also

• DAVEC