Holeta Genet

For the town in Jimma Zone, see Genet, Ethiopia.
Holeta Genet
Holeta Genet
Location within Ethiopia
Coordinates:
Country Ethiopia
Region Oromia
Zone Mirab (West)
Elevation 2,391 m (7,844 ft)
Population (2005)
 • Total 30,007
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)

Holeta Genet (also transliterated Oletta) is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of and an altitude of 2391 meters above sea level.

Holeta Genet is best known as the location of the Oletta Military Academy. Opened in January 1935, and staffed by five Swedish officers, the first class of 120 cadets did not complete their studies due to the Second Italian-Abyssinian War.[1] It was reopened once Emperor Haile Selassie returned to Ethiopia, and celebrated its 25th anniversary 20-30 April, 1960.[2] After the murder of Hadush Araya on 14 February 1996, the academy was renamed for him. Hadush Araya was one of the military leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front.[3]

The town also hosts a research station of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research. Founded in 1963, this station is the national center for research to improve the yield of barley, highland oil crops, potatos, and dairy products.[4]

History

Holeta Gennet came into existence with the construction of the Addis Ababa - Addis Alem road, and houses in the latter town were dismantled and brought to this new settlement. It became the new "country retreat" for Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul[5] According to Richard Pankhurst, when the couple were in residence, its population would mushroom from about 2,400 to as many as 15,000.[6] It was the first place in Ethiopia to have a permanent water mill, built in 1909 on the Holetta River.[2]

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Holeta Genet has an estimated total population of 30,007 of whom 14,825 were men and 15,182 were women.[7] According to the 1994 national census, this town has a population of 16,800. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 16,785 of whom 8,040 were males and 8,745 were females. It is the largest of three towns in Walmara woreda.

Notes

  1. ^ Mockler, Anthony (2003) [1984]. Haile Selassie's War. New York: Olive Branch. ISBN 1-56656-473-5. 
  2. ^ a b "Local History in Ethiopia" The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 18 November 2007)
  3. ^ Gebru Tareke, The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa (New Haven: Yale University, 2009), p. 105
  4. ^ EARI list of research centers (accessed 30 April 2009)
  5. ^ Chris Proutky, Empress Taytu and Menilek II: Ethiopia 1883-1910 (Trenton: The Red Sea Press, 1986), p. 244
  6. ^ Pankhurst, Richard K. P. (1968). Economic History of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University. 
  7. ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4