Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement

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The Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement was an joint effort between Ethiopia and Great Britain of reestablishing Ethiopian independent statehood following the ousting of Italian troops by combined British and Ethiopian forces in 1941 during World War II.

After the return of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie to the throne an interim Anglo-Ethiopian agreement was negotiated in January 1942 for collaboration between the two allies. Great Britain sent civil advisers to assist Selassie with administrative duties and also provide him with miltary advisors to maintain internal security and to improve and modernize the Ethiopian army. The terms of this agreement confirmed Ethiopia's status as a sovereign state, although the Ogaden region, the border regions with French Somaliland, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad, and the Haud (collective term for "Reserved Areas"), would remain temporarily under British control. Also the British assumed control over currency and foreign exchange as well as imports and exports.

A British-trained police force eventually replaced the former police who were in the service of local provincial governors. There were two revolts during this time; one in the Tigray Province; which was suppressed by British air missions, and the other in the Ogaden which was put down by two batallions of Ethiopian forces.

Meanwhile Selassie had made additional territorial demands; he desired the annexation of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. These requests were ignored at this time by the British, they were in favor of a separate Eritrean entity, and wanted to combine Italian Somaliland with their colony of British Somaliland as a "Greater Somalia".

On December 19, 1944, a new Anglo-Ethiopian agreement was signed and Britain was given preferential status in regards to the appointment of advisers and management of the currency. The process of de-colonizing Ethiopia didn't completely end until 1954 when Ethiopia was restored to their internationally recognized borders of 1935 (pre-Italian occupation).


There was a prior Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement of 1897 which involved Menelik II, concerning the boundaries between Ethiopia and British Somaliland.


[edit] References:

  • U.S. Library of Congress "Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement"
  • The Encarta Encyclopedia (entry on Ethiopia)
  • "Consequences of the British Occupation of Ethiopia During World II" by Theodore M. Vestal
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