Aklilu Habte-Wold: Icon of Ethiopian diplomacy

BY TEWODROS KASSA

Early life

Aklilu Habte-Wold was the son of a rural Ethiopian Orthodox priest from the

Bulga district of Shewa province. He and his brothers, Mekonnen Habte-Wold and

Akalework Habte-Wold benefited from the patronage of Emperor Haile Selassie,

who had them educated. Aklilu Habte-Wold attended the French lycee in

Alexandria, and then afterwards studied in France.

Upon returning to Ethiopia, Aklilu became the protégé of the powerful Tsehafi

Taezaz ("Minister of the Pen") Wolde Giyorgis Wolde Yohannes, another man of

humble birth, who had become a powerful figure in Ethiopian government, and a
close advisor to the Emperor, with his appointment as Tsehafi Taezaz. Wolde

Giyorgis recommended the sons of Habte-Wold to the Emperor, who promoted

them through the ranks so that the two eldest, Makonnen and Aklilu, became

particularly influential with the monarch. Their humble origins, and the fact that

they owed their education and advancement solely to the Emperor, allowed

Emperor Haile Selassie to trust them implicitly and to favor them. Other

commoners of humble origin in government appointments and high positions at the

expense of the aristocracy, whose loyalty to his person, rather than to the

institution of the Emperor he suspected. The Emperor's preference for such men as

Aklilu Habte-Wold over the high nobles created resentment among the aristocracy,

who believed these new western educated “technocrats” were displacing them.

When Ethiopia was defeated in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Aklilu Habte-

Wold was in France with his brother Makonnen; upon the defection of the head of

the Ethiopian legation to France, Blatengeta Wolde Mariam Ayele, Aklilu was

made charge d’affairs. Aklilu lived in Paris and married a French woman, Collette

Valade. With the fall of Paris in June 1940, Aklilu managed to escape on a forged

passport, and with the help of the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs he was

able to reach Cairo. Following the restoration in 1941, Aklilu served as a

representative to the Peace conference after the end of World War II, then served
as Foreign Minister. During this time, Aklilu played a key role in the complex

process that brought Eritrea into federation with Ethiopia.

Premiereship

Following the fall from favor of Tsehafi Taezaz Wolde Giyorgis in 1958, the

Emperor appointed Aklilu to replace him as Tsehafi Taezaz. In April 1961, four

months after the previous Prime Minister Abebe Aragai had been killed in a failed

coup, the Emperor promoted Aklilu Habte-Wold to that office, while retaining the

powerful office of Tsehafi Taezaz in his portfolio. These two posts gave Aklilu a

level of confidence with the Emperor that no one outside of the Imperial Family

shared.

This appointment and the following increase of commoner "technocrats" in

positions of power and influence greatly disturbed the more conservative elements

in the Imperial Family, the aristocracy, and the Ethiopian Church. Two camps

evolved at court, with Prime Minister Aklilu and his fellow non-noble

"technocrats" on one side, who dominated the various ministries and the Imperial

Cabinet, against the nobility who were represented by the Crown Council, and led

by Ras Asrate Medhin Kassa. Although the Emperor forbade party politics, the two

rival camps behaved as such, and maneuvered against each other rather vigorously.

Many issues such as land reform and constitutional change were blocked largely
because of this rivalry. On the other hand, Bahru Zewde is of the opinion that

"Aklilu's impact on Ethiopian politics is not so easily identifiable. He lacked the

capacity for political manipulation shown by his predecessor as tsahafe t'ezaz,

Walda-Giyorgis, and his own brother, Makonnen. Aklilu was more of a leading

functionary than a power-broker." Former diplomat Paul B. Henze supports this

view that Aklilu was not interested in reform, but repeats Aklilu's rival Ras

Asrate's opinion that "Aklilu was the primary reactionary influence on the

Emperor." On the other hand, John Spencer, who knew Aklilu personally,

described him as "a remarkably clear and logical thinker and a formidable

antagonist in encounters with foreign representatives." Spencer further explains

that Aklilu's ability was limited due, to the favoritism Emperor Haile Selassie

showed him, which led to resentment and isolation from his compatriots. "In that

isolation his power and stature declined in direct ratio to that of His Majesty,"

Spencer notes, concluding that with his brother Makonnen's death in the 1960

Ethiopian coup attempt, he lost a vital window into the psychological reactions and

secret movements of his peers.

1974 revolution

When student protests, military mutinies and an economic downturn caused by the

oil embargo erupted in 1973 into a popular uprising against the government, calls
went out for Prime Minister Aklilu to be dismissed. On 23 February, then the next

day, the Emperor made a number of concessions to the various groups of

protesters.

Meanwhile, Aklilu had grown frustrated and weary of holding a position with

much responsibility but no authority. John Spencer offers one example, only a few

months prior to this crisis, of Aklilu's loss of power:

In foreign affairs where, for decades, his views were uncontested, he was now

confronted by [Minister of Foreign Affairs] Minassie Haile, who did not share his

views on foreign policy. For Minassie, it was sufficient to go to His Majesty to

obtain a compliant authorization of an opposite line of action. A case in point ...

was whether or not the Emperor should make an urgent visit to Riyadh to consult

with King Faisal. Ill-advisedly, Aklilou accepted a showdown in front of His

Majesty. Aklilou lost. Without a constituency, with only a vacillating monarch to

turn to, Aklilou expressed to me his concern for the future.

By the time of the popular uprising, Aklilu Habte-Wold had resolved to resign, a

decision opposed by Lt. General Abiye Abebe and Leul Ras Asrate Kassa. Both

criticized him for abandoning the government without first having safeguarded

authority, law and order in this situation. Nevertheless, Aklilu persisted in his

decision, although he recommended Lt. General Abiye be his successor; however

when he resigned it was Endalkachew Mekonnen who became the new Prime

Minister. Aklilu's resignation, instead of placating the protesters, this resignation

only emboldened them to make further demands.

The Crown Council had pushed the Emperor to appoint a nobleman to the position,

and initially Lt. General Abiye Abebe was favored to be named the new Prime

Minister. However and when General Abiye's request that he be made responsible

to the elected parliament rather than the Emperor was presented, the Council

balked and the General asked to be dropped from consideration. Lij Endalkachew

Mekonnen, son of the late former Prime Minister, was appointed. The new Premier

attempted to address the many demands being put forward by the proponents of

reform, and Ethiopia seemed to be on the verge of transforming itself into a

democracy and a modern constitutional monarchy.] However, a committee of low

ranking officers called the Derg, who had been empowered to investigate

corruption in the military, arrested Tsehafi Taezaz Aklilu and most of the men who

had served in his cabinet, as well as the new Prime Minister and his cabinet. The

Derg deposed Emperor Haile Selassie on 12 September 1974 and assumed power

as the Marxist military junta that would rule the country for almost two decades.

On the evening of 23 November, Tsehafi Taezaz Aklilu Habte-Wold, and his

brother Akalework Habte-Wold were removed from Menelik Palace and taken to
Akaki Central Prison where they were summarily executed with 60 other ex-

officials of the Emperor's government. This act led to protests around the world,

not only from Europe and the United States, but also from a number of African

countries who expressed their concern for the well-being of the deposed Emperor.