Tafari Benti

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Tafari Benti (1921 - 1977) was the president of Ethiopia (November 28, 1974 - February 3, 1977), and chairman of the Derg, the ruling junta.

Tafari Benti was born near Addis Ababa, and was considered by some of Oromo ancestry -- which he denied. He joined the Ethiopian army at the age of 20, graduated from the Oletta Military Academy, and served in the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions.^[1]

In the evening of 23 November, 1974, the charismatic Lt. General Aman Mikael Andom, the president of Ethiopia, and who had been in a struggle for power with the other members of the Derg, was killed in a shootout at his home.^[2] Mengistu Haile Mariam served as interim president until the Derg appointed Tafari Bente to the position. He had been serving as brigadier general in the Fourth Division, which was stationed in Asmara, at the time of this appointment.

Immediately after his appointment, Tafari Bente changed the spelling of his name slightly to emphasize his Amharic ethnicity.^[3] During his tenure, he presented the public face of the ruling junta, delivering the Derg's public announcements, such as the 11 September 1975 announcement that the Derg would create a political party to support their aims, along the lines of the contemporary Soviet Communist Party.^[4]

Tafari died by gunfire during a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Derg, either by committing suicide or at Mengistu's orders, along with Captain Almayahu Haile, Captain Mogas Wolde Mikael and Lt. Colonel Asrat Dasta. The Ottaways, writing not long after the incident state, "Precisely how the shoot-out began and which side took the initiative remains a typical Derg mystery" ^[5] Bahru Zewde, although writing over 20 years later, was much closer to the scene and states simply "They were readily picked up and summarily shot."^[6]

The Ottaways comment that while "at first a neutral and powerless figure", in the end "he was too colorless, soft-spoken, and undemonstrative to be the figurehead of the revolution."^[1]

[edit] Notes

Preceded by Aman Mikael Andom

Head of State of Ethiopia 1974-1977

Succeeded by Mengistu Haile Mariam

v • d • e Heads of State of Ethiopia since 1889 Solomonic dynasty (1889-1936), Emperors Menelik II · Iyasu V · Zewditu I · Haile Selassie I Italian Occupation (1936-1941) Victor Emmanuel III Solomonic dynasty (1941-1974), Emperor Haile Selassie I Derg (1974-1987), Chairmen Aman† · Mengistu† · Tafari† · Mengistu† People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987-1991), Presidents Mengistu · Tesfaye†* Ethiopia (since 1991), Presidents Meles* · Negasso  · Girma *acting     †military