Ethiopia: fear of instability following the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

This briefing discusses the death of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at age 57 and the subsequent concerns regarding Ethiopia's political stability. It examines the legal transition of power to Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Zenawi's legacy in economic development and security, and the potential for instability within the ruling ethnic-based coalition.

• Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died at age 57 in a hospital in Brussels, following a period of uncertainty and rumors about his health that began in July.
• Following the death of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hailemariam Desalegn took control of the government, as provided for in Chapter 75(1)b of the 1995 constitution. The House of People’s Representatives is tasked with electing a new prime minister under Chapter 73.
• Meles Zenawi's legacy includes significant economic growth, the establishment of ethnic federalism, and a strategic alliance with the West in the war on terror, specifically regarding intelligence gathering in the Horn of Africa and military action against Al-Shabaab and the Islamic Union Court in Somalia.
• While short-term destabilization is deemed unlikely because state security infrastructure remains operational, there are concerns that the death could lead to parochial politics or the collapse of the ruling coalition. This coalition consists of four ethnicity-based parties: the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation (OPDO), Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), and the South Ethiopian People’s Democratic Front (SEPDF).

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Ethiopia: fear of instability following the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/ethiopia-fear-of-instability-following-the-death-of-prime-minister-meles-zenawi

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Ethiopia: fear of instability following the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/ethiopia-fear-of-instability-following-the-death-of-prime-minister-meles-zenawi.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Ethiopia: fear of instability following the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi |url=https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/ethiopia-fear-of-instability-following-the-death-of-prime-minister-meles-zenawi |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndethiopia, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Ethiopia: fear of instability following the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/ethiopia-fear-of-instability-following-the-death-of-prime-minister-meles-zenawi}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }