ADDIS ABABA – Former President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Girma Wolde-Giorgis, was laid to rest yesterday, Wednesday the 19th of December, 2018, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral here in the capital.
Girma, the second person to hold the presidency since the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic in 1995, died on the 15th of December 2018 at the age of 94.
A farewell ceremony to President Girma was organized at the Millennium Hall early in the morning. On the occasion, President Sahle-Work Zewde said President Girma Wolde-Giorgis scarified his entire lif serving his fellow citizens and country at various capacities.
“Thus, the posterity will be proud when they witness his grand contribution to the country depicted on the pages of history,” she added.World Laureate Dr. Tibebe YemaneBerhan, a longtime friend of the former president, also said Girma played a major role in saving human lives during the humanitarian crisis in the North Eastern part of the country following drought and famine. Besides, he also played a key role in expanding rehabilitation schools nationwide, Tibebe added.
Following the touching ceremony at the Millennium Hall, the president’s body was taken to Holy Trinity Cathedral, where he was buried in the afternoon.
His funeral was attended by President Sahle-Work Zewde, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahimed, Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, Speakers of the Houses of Peoples Representatives and Federation, Former Presidents and Prime Minister as well as religious leaders including Abune Merkorios and Abune Mathias, the fourth and sixth Patriarchs of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Girma was born in Addis Ababa on the 28th of December 1924. He first attended the Ethiopian Orthodox Church School before he joined the Teferi Mekonen School in Addis Ababa where he continued his study until Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia.
He was also a graduate of Genet Military School in Holeta as Sub lieutenant. Between 1950 and 1952, he received certificates in Management (from the Netherlands), in Air Traffic Management (in Sweden) and Air Traffic Control (in Canada) under a training Program sponsored by the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO).
The former President was also one of the first Ethiopian citizens to be hired in the Ethiopian Air-force dominated by American technicians. Girma tried to motivate Ethiopians to join the airlines and wrote a book on fundamentals. Girma Wolde-Giorgis, Former President Grima Wolde Giorgis
– In 1941, he was enlisted at the Ethiopian Military Radio Communication set up by the United Kingdom;
– In 1944 he was graduated from the Holetta Military Academy as a Sub-Lieutenant;
– In 1946, he joined the Air Force and took various Air Management courses;
– 1948: Became assistant teacher in air navigation and flight control;
– 1951: Became Director General of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Planning at its establishment,
– 1955: Became head of Civil Aviation of Eritrea, which at the time was federated with Ethiopia
– Assumed the post of Director General of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and was Board member of the Ethiopian Airlines during the same period.
who spoke Amharic, Afan Oromo, French, Italian and English languages fluently and possessed qualities of integrated experience maturity and intellect, was elected President on 8 October 2001. Before he came to the post, he had been serving his country in
numerous positions and titles. 1961 Girma became member of the lower house (Chamber of Deputies) of the Imperial Ethiopian Parliament.
He was also elected speaker of the lower house (Chamber of Deputies) of the Imperial Ethiopian Parliament for three consecutive years. He helped win a seat for the Ethiopian Parliament in the International Parliamentary Union and attended conferences of the IPU in Switzerland, Denmark and former Yugoslavia and was elected as Vice President of the 52nd Meeting of the International Parliamentary Union.
He was also an activist and in the Inter Parliamentary Summit in Yugoslavia, he condemned the apartheid system in South Africa. – He also served as manager of the Import and Export Enterprise (IMPEX) and as deputy Commissioner of the Peace Program drawn up in 1977 by the provisional military government of Ethiopia (Derg) to settle the Eritrean problem peacefully.
Besides his lifelong governmental services with dedication and commitment, Girma has also played significant role serving in nongovernmental offices between 1965 and 1974 served as board member of Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce, Representative for Australian Trade Mission in Ethiopia, founder and Director of The Ghibe Agricultural Association, Founder and Director of the Keffa and Illubabor Timber Processing Industry. – Furthermore, while in the then province of Eritrea before 1990, he served as President of Ethiopian Red Cross Society, Eritrea Branch, Asmara, Board President of Cheshire Home and, Managing Director of Leprosy Control Organization – Upon returning to Addis Ababa in 1990, he served as Board Member of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and Head of its International Logistics Department.
He launched an environmental protection association called Lem Ethiopia in March 1992, serving as Vice President of the Board of the Association. In 2000 he was elected to the parliament after winning in the Becho woreda constituency, Mirab Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, as an independent candidate. It was then that he was unanimously elected to the post of president in October 2001. He was also re-elected in October 2007, until he was succeeded by Mulatu Teshome in October 2013. His wife, Salem passed away a year ago. Girma and Salem have five children. His biographical sketch ‘Under the shade of a Gaashe’ authored by Indian Sivakumar K.P was published in 2015.
The Ethiopian Herald, December 20/2018
BY LAKACHEW ATINAFU
