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Meles Zenawi Asres (Ge'ez: መለስ ዜናዊ አስረስ ''mäläs zenawi asräs'' ; 9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012, born Legesse Zenawi Asres) was the Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his death in 2012. From 1989, he was the chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF), and the head of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since its formation in 1991. Before becoming a prime minister in 1995, he had served the president of the transitional government of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995. In 1975, he left college to join the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and opposing the Derg. After the overthrow of the military regime, he was elected as a president of the transition Government and then as a Prime Minister. While his government was credited with reforms such as those that led a multi-party political system in Ethiopia, introduction of private press in Ethiopia and decreased child mortality rates, his government was also accused of political repression and various human rights abuses, curbing freedom of press〔(Blow to press freedom as Ethiopia convicts 24 of plotting rebellion | World news ). The Guardian.〕 and dissent. Known by the media as one of Africa's strongmen,〔 he was also an ally in the United States' War on Terror. ==Early life== Meles was born in Adwa, Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father Zenawi Asres from Adwa and Alemash Guebreluel from Adi Quala, Eritrea.〔http://www.ezega.com/news/NewsDetails.aspx?Page=news&NewsID=3378〕 He was the third of six children in the family. His first name at birth was "Legesse" (thus Legesse Zenawi, Ge'ez: ለገሰ ዜናዊ ''legesse zēnāwī''). However, he eventually became better known by his nom de guerre ''Meles'', which he adopted in honor of university student and fellow Tigrayan Meles Tekle who was executed by Mengistu's government in 1975. He received primary education at Queen of Sheba Junior School located in Adwa.〔http://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/facts%20about%20ethiopia/biography%20ato%20meles%20zenawi.htm〕 It took him 5 years to complete the regular 8 years program as he was smart and was able to skip grades and join the next level. He then joined the prestigious General Wingate High school in Addis Ababa on full scholarship and completed high school in 1972. After high school, Meles studied medicine at Addis Ababa University (at the time known as Haile Selassie University) for two years before dropping out his studies in 1974 to join other students and form Tigrayan National Organization (TNO) the forerunner Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in Dedebit, Tigray. Aregawi Berhe, a former member of the TPLF, notes that historians John Young and Jenny Hammond "vaguely indicated" Meles as founder TPLF in their books. Aregawi insists that both he and Sibhat Nega joined the Front "months" after it was founded.〔''A Political history of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (1975–1991)'' (Los Angeles: Tsehai, 2009), p. 62.〕 While a member of the TPLF, Meles established the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray. TPLF was one of armed groups struggling against Lieutenant Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam and the Derg, the junta which lead Ethiopia under iron fist from 1974-1991. Meles was elected member of the leadership committee in 1979 and chairman of the executive committee of TPLF in 1983. He was the chairperson of both the TPLF and the EPRDF after the EPRDF assumed power at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War in 1991. He was president of the transitional government of Ethiopia (TGE), during which Eritrea seceded from the country and a federal Government that is based on representing the nation and nationality of the country started.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Meles Zenawi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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