Conventional Long Form Name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Capital City: Addis Ababa
Type of Government: federal republic
Date of Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years
National Holidays: National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)
Chief of State: President MULATU Teshome Wirtu (since 7 October 2013)
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Capital City: Addis Ababa
Type of Government: federal republic
Date of Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years
National Holidays: National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991)
Chief of State: President MULATU Teshome Wirtu (since 7 October 2013)
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Head of Government: Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn (since 21 September 2012); prior to his approval as prime minister, HAILEMARIAM had been acting prime minister due to the death of former Prime Minister MELES
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Description of Executive Branch/Powers: president indirectly elected by both chambers of Parliament for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 October 2013 (next to be held in October 2019); prime minister designated by the majority party following legislative elections
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms); note - the House of Federation is responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues and the House of People's Representatives is responsible for passing legislation
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers: Federal Supreme Court or Supreme Imperial Court (consists of 11 judges); note - the Federal Supreme Court has jurisdiction for all constitutional issues, federal high courts and federal courts of first instance; state court systems (mirror structure of federal system); sharia courts and customary and traditional courts. President and vice president of Federal Supreme Court nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; other Supreme Court judges nominated by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; judges serve until retirement at age 60.
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote): 18 years of age; universal
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S: Ambassador GIRMA Birru (since 6 January 2011)
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S.: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S.: Los Angeles, Seattle and Houston, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Ambassador Patricia Marie HASLACH (since 25 September 2013)
Location of U.S. embassy THERE: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE: none
Name of THEIR representative to UN: Tekeda Alemu
Picture of the flag:
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms); note - the House of Federation is responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues and the House of People's Representatives is responsible for passing legislation
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers: Federal Supreme Court or Supreme Imperial Court (consists of 11 judges); note - the Federal Supreme Court has jurisdiction for all constitutional issues, federal high courts and federal courts of first instance; state court systems (mirror structure of federal system); sharia courts and customary and traditional courts. President and vice president of Federal Supreme Court nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; other Supreme Court judges nominated by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; judges serve until retirement at age 60.
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote): 18 years of age; universal
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S: Ambassador GIRMA Birru (since 6 January 2011)
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S.: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S.: Los Angeles, Seattle and Houston, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Ambassador Patricia Marie HASLACH (since 25 September 2013)
Location of U.S. embassy THERE: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE: none
Name of THEIR representative to UN: Tekeda Alemu
Picture of the flag:
Description of Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red, with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; green represents hope and the fertility of the land, yellow symbolizes justice and harmony, while red stands for sacrifice and heroism in the defense of the land; the blue of the disk symbolizes peace and the pentagram represents the unity and equality of the nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia
National Anthem:
National Anthem:
National Symbols: Abyssinian lion (traditional), yellow pentagram with five rays of light on a blue field (promoted by current government); national colors: green, yellow, red
Description of International Disputes: Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia
Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees: 281,119 (South Sudan); 251,285 (Somalia); 147,190 (Eritrea); 37,952 (Sudan); 8,114 (Yemen) (2015)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: 413,400 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000; ethnic clashes; and ongoing fighting between the Ethiopian military and separatist rebel groups in the Sumale and Oromiya regions; natural disasters; intercommunal violence; most IDPs live in Sumale state) (2015)
Quantity of Stateless Persons: none
Description of current human trafficking issues related to Ethiopia: Ethiopia is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Girls from Ethiopia’s rural areas are exploited in domestic servitude and, less frequently, prostitution within the country, while boys are subjected to forced labor in traditional weaving, herding, guarding, and street vending. The central market in Addis Ababa is home to the largest collection of brothels in Africa, with girls as young as 8-years-old in prostitution in these establishments. Ethiopian girls are forced into domestic servitude and prostitution outside of Ethiopia, primarily in Djibouti, South Sudan, and in the Middle East. Ethiopian boys are subjected to forced labor in Djibouti as shop assistants, errand boys, domestic workers, thieves, and street beggars.
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money laundering center
Description of International Disputes: Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia
Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees: 281,119 (South Sudan); 251,285 (Somalia); 147,190 (Eritrea); 37,952 (Sudan); 8,114 (Yemen) (2015)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: 413,400 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000; ethnic clashes; and ongoing fighting between the Ethiopian military and separatist rebel groups in the Sumale and Oromiya regions; natural disasters; intercommunal violence; most IDPs live in Sumale state) (2015)
Quantity of Stateless Persons: none
Description of current human trafficking issues related to Ethiopia: Ethiopia is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Girls from Ethiopia’s rural areas are exploited in domestic servitude and, less frequently, prostitution within the country, while boys are subjected to forced labor in traditional weaving, herding, guarding, and street vending. The central market in Addis Ababa is home to the largest collection of brothels in Africa, with girls as young as 8-years-old in prostitution in these establishments. Ethiopian girls are forced into domestic servitude and prostitution outside of Ethiopia, primarily in Djibouti, South Sudan, and in the Middle East. Ethiopian boys are subjected to forced labor in Djibouti as shop assistants, errand boys, domestic workers, thieves, and street beggars.
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money laundering center