ETHIOPIA’s Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi is dead.
The former rebel leader turned prime minister reportedly died in Belgium on Tuesday, following months of protracted illness – the type of which was not immediately confirmed, although state television in Ethiopia confirmed Mr. Zenawi’s death, at 57.
According to the New York Times, a European Commission official said that the late prime minister died following a “secondary infection” that complicated his ailment.
Mr. Zenawai rose to power in 1991 after several years of fighting the communist government in his home country as rebel leader. Known as a cerebral technocrat in office, he dropped out of medical school to join the rebel forces to reclaim his country.
As prime minister, Melles Zenawi turned the fortunes of his country around after years of being ravaged by war. He was known to be a hands-on leader who digested copious amount of information critical to governance.
The later years in office saw the Zenawi administration grow more intolerant to political opposition, acquiring a regional and international reputation as a violently repressive government.
Amid speculation over Zenawi’s health situation after disappearing from public sight since June, a government official came out to announce that the later PM had any health challenges, saying Zenawi was “in good and stable” health, and that he was only taking time out to rest.
Prime Minister Zenawi’s story is reminiscent of the case concerning former Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, whose convalescence was kept secret until his death was announced in May 5, 2009.
Turns and intrigues at the seat of power in Abuja had threatened stability in the country until Mr. Yar’Adua’s deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, was sworn into office on May 26, after having served as acting president for 3 weeks, mainly because certain powerful interests in the country did not want him to emerge president despite constitutional provisions to the contrary.
Ethiopia is the latest country to lose its leader to health crisis. In July, Ghana’s President, John Atta Mills died after a protracted illness. Mr. Mills, who was 68, was succeeded by his vice president, John Mahama, in a smooth transfer of power.
Prime Minister Zenawi is expected to be succeeded by his foreign minister and deputy prime minister, Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, who is unlikely to deviate much from Mr. Zenawi’s autocratic regime, in an environment under the tight control of Zenwai’s Tygrayan ethnic group.
In the meantime, Ethiopia, a country considered as one of the fastest growing non-oil economies in Africa, remains a cross ally of the United States in spite of its autocratic government, a reality that America embraces as it enjoys the assistance of Zenawi in its fight against violent Islamic extremism in the world.