Ethiopian revolution and the Derg power struggle

A crisis of famine, prices and military grievances

The 1974 revolution was not a single organization’s planned seizure of power from Emperor Haile Selassie. Government handling and concealment of famine, landed inequality, inflation, soldiers’ poor conditions and demands from students and workers converged. Military mutinies and urban protests could not be contained through cabinet changes or limited constitutional revision; they challenged both imperial legitimacy and governing capacity. Source 1 · Source 2

The Derg emerges and deposes the emperor

The coordinating committee formed by representatives of the armed forces, police and territorial army in June became known as the Derg. It was not initially controlled by one all-powerful leader; military participants differed in background, rank and political outlook. Arrests and intervention in appointments progressively disabled imperial institutions, culminating in the emperor’s deposition on September 12. Control over deployable troops gave the committee a decisive advantage over civilian reformers. Source 2

Aman, Tafari and Mengistu: the struggle within the regime

Early head of state Aman Mikael Andom clashed with the Derg majority over negotiating in Eritrea and the treatment of detained former leaders. After Aman’s death and mass executions of former officials in November 1974, Tafari Benti became chairman. Competition involving Mengistu Haile Mariam and Atnafu Abate continued. Tafari’s killing in February 1977 and Atnafu’s elimination in November established Mengistu’s predominance. Source 3

Land reform: ownership and cultivation rights

Rural land nationalization in March 1975 abolished tenancy and landlord rent, with peasant associations reorganizing cultivation. Peasants received access to land, not freely saleable private ownership of the soil. Existing tenure systems varied by region, producing different effects and resistance. Nationalization of land must be distinguished from the later expansion of collective and state farms. Source 4 · Source 5

Nationalization also encompassed banks, insurance, major enterprises, urban land and rental housing. Urban kebeles and rural peasant associations implemented reforms and organized services, but also enabled surveillance and political control. Sending students and teachers into rural development work aimed to spread education and reform, while compulsory mobilization and military discipline deepened conflict between former supporters of revolution and the military government. Source 4

Conflict with the civilian left and the Red Terror

The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) demanded civilian government, while the All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement (MEISON) cooperated with the military for a time in hopes of directing the revolution from within. Both advocated socialism, so their conflict cannot be reduced to socialism against its opponents. Union independence, student political activity and the question of whether and to whom the military would transfer power were central issues. Source 3 · Source 4

As EPRP assassinations and government repression escalated, the Red Terror of 1977–1978 brought mass detention and killing of actual or suspected opponents. Students, young people and civilians suffered extensively, and MEISON, despite its earlier cooperation, also became a target. Violence by opponents did not remove state responsibility for indiscriminate punishment. The Derg closed the revolution’s competitive political space and moved toward directing parties and mass organizations from above. Source 6