Berhanu Nega

:"Nega may also refer to Nega (album)"Berhanu Nega (born 1958) was nominated to be the mayor of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the Ethiopian general elections, 2005. He is a founding chairman of the and a Deputy Chairman of Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), for whom he served as chief election campaign strategist.

Early life

Born in Debre Zeyit, Berhanu attended Addis Ababa University where he participated in the student movement against the ruling Derg government in his freshman year. When the government acted against political dissidents in 1977, Berhanu with other radical student activists fled to Mount Asimba in northern Ethiopia. After a division within the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party, he was detained for openly criticizing killings within EPRP. After a few months, he was released by his captors and crossed into the Sudan where he lived for two years until he was granted political asylum in the United States.

He did his undergraduate degree in economics at the State University of New York and got his PhD in economics from the New School for Social Research, in New York City. During that time, he became one of the organizers of an annual conference on the "Horn of Africa" that debated and analyzed the political, social and economic conditions in the sub-region. For over five years, it served as a forum for intellectual dialogue among political leaders, policy analysts and researchers interested in developments in that part of Africa.

Having completed his PhD studies, he joined the faculty of economics at Bucknell University, where he became a lecturer in economics for three years. Later he founded "Imbilta", a bi-monthly magazine focusing on economic, political, social and current affairs in Ethiopia and he was the founding chairman of Ethiopian Economic Association. In 1989, Berhanu married Dr. Nardos Minasse.

Return to Ethiopia

Intending to contribute to the betterment of their homeland, Dr Berhanu, with his wife and his two children, returned to Ethiopia in 1994. Berhanu became an entrepreneur and founded the Ethiopian Agro-Maize, a fertilizer producing company, and Addis Village Family Home Builders. Berhanu has also served as a lecturer at the Addis Ababa University, Department of Economics. From 1996 to 2000, he served as the president of the Ethiopian Economic Association.

He has also served as the head of the Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute, a non-profit organization that he helped to establish. He also works as a consultant including for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Berhanu has lectured and published several articles and reviews on Ethiopian socio-political, economic and human right issues. As a result of his participation in a 2001 public forum where human rights and academic freedom issues were discussed, he was arrested and imprisoned.

The 2005 general election

During the 2005 elections, Dr Berhanu contributed to the opposition movement against Meles Zenawi with remarkable performances at the pre-election debates with the ruling party. ²

Despite the post-election political impasse, CUD met on 20 August and elected Dr Berhanu mayor of Addis Ababa. Dr. Admasu Gebeyehu and Assefa Habtewold were elected Deputy Mayor and Speaker of the city assembly respectively at the same meeting. If the CUD had taken over the task of running the city, Dr. Berhanu would have been the first elected mayor of in Ethiopia.

However, the October riots led to the imprisonment of Dr Berhanu, along with CUD chairman Hailu Shawul, Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, and Former Senior UN Prosecutor Dr. Yacob Haile-Mariamand others leaders of CUD; civil rights activists and independent journalists imprisoned. They were accused on the charges of genocide and treason. Amnesty International and EU recognized the prisoners as political prisoners and requested immediate and unconditional release. The supreme court however sentenced all political prisoners to life sentence. With active intervention of the international community and Ethiopian elderly, majority of the leaders were "pardoned" after 21 months of prison on July 20th 2007.

2008

On May 14, 2008Dr. Berhanu Nega, along with other former members of the CUD, founded a political movement called [http://www.ginbot7.org GINBOT 7: Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy] and become a headache to Meles Zenawi.

Notes

# [http://acas.prairienet.org/alerts/ethiopia/berhanubio.html Prairienet entry on Berhanu Nega]
# www.mediaethiopia.com

Post prison, Dr. Nega found himself in a rivalary with Chairman Hailu Shawel when the CUD party splitted into two. Dr. Nega currently a resident scholar in the US. Dr. Nega's political motive is not clear for many Ethiopians. There had been a lot of questions published on many newspapers before the 2005 election about his position in the struggle against the ethiopian government. However, he didn't try to clarify any of them. His participation in the famous EPRP is another big question he is expected to address because EPRP had declared white terror on Derg and killed many people. The other point is his previous relation with MS.Birtukan, as it is becoming clear that she is an ally of the Current Ethiopian government. Dr. Nega's use of religious words is another saddening event for many Ethiopians who knew EPRP members do not believe in GOD at all.

September 11,2008(Sep01,2001 Ethipian Calendar) Dr. Berhanu Nega made a remarkable speech on the opening of the Ginbot7 Radio station and the celebration of Ethiopian first new year after the Ethiopian Millennium. Dr. Berhanu is the one of the leaders of the Ginbot7 political movement though his position is not clearly identified. On his speech, Dr. Berhanu reiterated the famous 2007 Ethiopian election and promised to continue with his struggle. His speech addressed his personal beliefs and his vision for his people in a very clear and elaborated way to all Ethiopians without race and political differences including the current Ethiopian Govt. army. The speech is believed by some Ethiopians to be the most successful speech he ever made in attracting all Ethiopians to a common goal and making clear the questions raised about him.

External links

* [http://www.ginbot7.org GINBOT 7: Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy]
* [http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/ethiopia/document.do?id=ENGAFR250052006 Ethiopia: Prisoners of conscience prepare to face 'trial']
* [http://www.ethioppia.org Advocacy Ethiopia: A site dedicated to the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Ethiopia]