ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER IS DEAD

Meles Zenawi 

ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER IS DEAD

Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died, the state TV reported Tuesday,20^th August,2012 .The 57-year-old Ethiopian leader had not appeared in public in the last two months because of unspecified illness, reported Xinhua.He died abroad due to a sudden infection when he was recovering in a hospital, a government spokesperson said.The state TV also said Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will be acting prime minister.

 Mr Zenawi pictured with other leaders including
Prime Minister David Cameron and
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G20 summit

Ethiopian PM and long-term friend of the West Meles Zenawi has died following a lengthy illnessAfter two decades in charge of Ethiopia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died.The controversial ruler, who became a friend of the U.S. but was also accused of human rights abuses, lost his long battle with an undisclosed disease.The 57-year-old who held a tight grip over the East African country but became a major US counter-terrorism ally, had not been seen in public for around two months, Ethiopian state television said. Meles died just before midnight on Monday after contracting an infection, state TV announced. Hailemariam Desalegn, who was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs in 2010, is thought to be in charge of the Cabinet.

In mid-July, after he did not attend a meeting of heads of state of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, speculation increased that his health problems were serious.Ethiopian officials gave no details and said the prime minister was in ‘very good’ health and would return to office soon, but international officials said quietly it was unlikely he would recover.Born on May 8, 1955, Meles became president in 1991 and prime minister in 1995, a position that is both the head of the federal government and armed forces.The U.S. has long viewed Meles as a strong security partner and has given hundreds of millions of dollars in aid over the years.U.S. military drones that patrol East Africa – especially over Somalia – are stationed in Ethiopia. But Ethiopia has long been criticised by human rights groups over the government’s strict control.

                                                                                      Prof. John Kurakar