Chief of General Staff (Ethiopia)

Chief of the General Staff of Ethiopian National Defense Force
የኢትዮጵያ ጦር ኃይሎች ጠቅላይ ሹም
Incumbent Field Marshal General Birhanu Jula since 4 November 2020
Ministry of Defense
Member of	National Security Council
Reports to	Ministry of Defense
Nominator	Prime Minister of Ethiopia
Appointer	President of Ethiopia

The Chief of General Staff (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ጦር ኃይሎች ጠቅላይ ሹም, romanized: Ye’ītiyop’iya t’ori ḫayilochi t’ek’ilayi shumi) is the professional head of the Ethiopian National Defense Force. The chief is responsible for the administration and the operational control of the Ethiopian military. The current Chief of General Staff is Field marshal general Birhanu Jula who was appointed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on 4 November 2020 succeeding General Adem Mohammed.^[1]

List of chiefs

Ethiopian Empire (1941–1974)

No.	Portrait	Chief of Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
?		Buli, MulugetaMajor general Mulugeta Buli (1917–1960)	November 1956	1958	1–2 years	Imperial Army	[2][3]
?		Lieutenant General Eyasu Mengesha				Imperial Army	[3]
?		Lieutenant General Haile Baykedagen				Imperial Army	[3]
?		Lieutenant General Assefa Ayane				Imperial Air Force	[3]
?		Lieutenant General Wolde Selassie Bereka		3 July 1974		Imperial Army	[3][4]
?		Andom, AmanLieutenant General Aman Andom (1924–1974)	3 July 1974	12 September 1974	66 days	Imperial Army	[4]

Derg (1974–1987)

No.	Portrait	Chief of Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
1		Andom, AmanLieutenant General Aman Andom (1924–1974)	12 September 1974	17 November 1978 †	66 days	Army	[5]
2		Lieutenant General Moges Haile	1976	1980	4–5 years	Air force	[5]
3		Negussie, MeridMajor General Merid Negussie (1924–1974)	1980	January 1981	0–1 years	Kebur Zabagna	[5]
?		Tedla, AddisLieutenant General Addis Tedla	1972	?	1980	Air force	[5]

People's Democratic Republic (1987–1991)

No.	Portrait	Chief of Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
1		Negussie, MeridMajor General Merid Negussie (1934–1989)	22 February 1987	18 May 1989 †	2 years, 85 days	Kebur Zabagna	[5][6]
2		Tedla, AddisLieutenant general Addis Tedla	26 May 1989	28 May 1991	2 years, 2 days	Air force	[5][7][8]

Federal Democratic Republic (1991–present)

No.	Portrait	Chief of Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Tsadkan GebretensaeLieutenant general Tsadkan Gebretensae	28 May 1991	2001	9–10 years	[9][10]
2		Yunis, SamoraGeneral Samora Yunis (born c. 1949)	2001	7 June 2018	16–17 years	[9]
3		Mekonen, SeareGeneral Seare Mekonen (?–2019)	7 June 2018	22 June 2019 †	1 year, 15 days	[9][11]
4		Mohammed, AdemGeneral Adem Mohammed	27 June 2019	4 November 2020	1 year, 130 days	[12]
5		Jula, BirhanuField Marshal General Birhanu Jula	4 November 2020	Incumbent	3 years, 358 days	[1][13]

References

Citations

1. Office of the Prime Minister [@PMEthiopia] (8 November 2020). "ከጥቅምት 25 ቀን 2013 ዓ.መ ጀምሮ በጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ዐቢይ አሕመድ የተሰጡ ሹመቶች" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via Twitter.
2. Shinn, David H.; Ofcansky, Thomas P. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 295.
3. Ginbot 7 2010, p. 6.
4. Hofmann 1974.
5. Ginbot 7 2010, p. 9.
6. "Merid Negussie". meridnegussie.com. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
7. Battiata, Mary (26 May 1989). "Ethiopia Appoints New Generals, Puts Down Student Protest". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
8. Abebe, Andualem (26 May 1989). "Ethiopian Leader Names New Armed Forces Chiefs". AP News. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
9. Fantahun, Arefaynie (7 June 2018). "Seare Mekonnen Named Ethiopian Military's Chief of Staff". Ethiopia Observer. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
10. Giorgis, Andebrhan Welde (2014). Eritrea at a Crossroads: A Narrative of Triumph, Betrayal and Hope. Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC. p. 526. ISBN 978-1628573312. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
11. "Ethiopia army chief shot dead in 'coup bid' attacks". BBC News. 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
12. "Ethiopia PM names new army chief, Adem Mohammed". Africa News. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
13. "አቶ ተመስገን ጥሩነህ ሥልጣናቸውን ለቀቁ". BBC News አማርኛ (in Amharic). Retrieved 8 November 2020.

Bibliography

• Ginbot 7 (12 February 2010). "The Ethiopian Military Leadership Under Haile Selassie and Derge Regimes" (PDF). Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy. Retrieved 23 June 2019. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Hofmann, Paul (4 July 1974). "Selassie Grants 5 Concessions To Army, Including an Amnesty". New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2022.