The nation paid its respects this week to Girma Wolde-Giorgis, who died on Saturday (December 16) after a short illness. Ethiopia’s President for more than a decade, a greatly respected environmental activist, and long-time civil servant, he was laid to rest on Wednesday (December 19) with full state honors including a 21-gun salute at the Kidist Selassie Menbere Tsebaot Church (Holy Trinity Cathedral) in Addis Ababa. The funeral ceremony was attended by high-level government officials, including President Sahle-Work Zewdie, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the Speaker of the House of People’s Representatives, Tagesse Chafo, the Speaker of the House of Federation, Keria Ibrahim, and the presidents of regional states, as well as two former presidents of Ethiopia, Dr. Mulatu Teshome and Dr. Negasso Gidada, former Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, ambassadors, representatives of regional and international organizations, the diplomatic corps and residents of the city of Addis Ababa. and his family and friends.
President Sahle-Work said that President Girma had served Ethiopia with loyalty and kindness, and expressed her grief at the passing of someone whose memory of Ethiopia’s history was “like a closure of a library.” Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed expressed his condolences over the death of the former President: “It is with deep sadness that I share the passing of H.E. Girma Wolde-Giorgis who served as FDRE President from 2001 to 2013.” For those who knew him well and for countless people across the country whose lives were touched by his dedication in conservation movement, this was a time of mourning but also a time to celebrate his life. For those who knew him well and for countless people across the country whose lives were touched by his dedication to conservation, this was a time of mourning but also a time to celebrate his life.
High-level Federal and Regional Officials, Speakers of the Federal and Regional Councils, Heads of international organizations and Ambassadors of Foreign Missions in Ethiopia signed a Book of Condolence in honor of the former President on Monday at his residence and in all Ethiopian Embassies abroad; and people were able to pay their respects at a ceremony at the Millennium Hall, also attended by members of the diplomatic community and government senior officials as well as the population. The House of People’s Representatives declared Wednesday (December 19) as a National Day of Mourning and flags were flown at half-mast in honor of the former President across the country, at Ethiopian embassies and consulates as well as on Ethiopian-owned vessels.
Girma was born on December 28th in 1924 during the reign of Empress Zewditu. His father was the governor of Gurgahe and later of Debre Berhane. He was a second child and his father’s favorite son. He graduated from the Genet Military School in Holeta, Ethiopia as a sub-lieutenant in 1944 but later joined the Ethiopian Air Force (1946–47). He studied air-traffic management and Control in Sweden and Canada and became an instructor in Air Navigation and Flight control in Ethiopia in 1948. In a political career that spanned more than five decades, Lieutenant Girma as he was fondly known, was fortunate enough to live through and witness many momentous and significant periods. Starting his career as Head of Civil Aviation in Eritrea in 1955, he was also Director-General of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for two years before becoming a member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Imperial Ethiopian Parliament where he served as president of the Chamber for three consecutive years. After the collapse of the imperial government, he was also member of a peace commission for Eritrea created by the military government.
In 1991, Girma was invited by the new government to the “meeting as to how the government was to be formed and the constitution be ratified”. In 2000, he was elected to parliament. In October 2001, aged 77, he was unanimously elected to the post of President of Ethiopia. He was re-elected in October 2007 for a second term.
Throughout his career Girma also held a number of non-governmental positions, including being a board member of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and president of the Eritrean branch of the Ethiopian Red Cross. In 1991 he founded anlocal environmental protection organization, Lem Ethiopia. He spoke Afaan Oromo, Amharic, English, French, and Italian. His open manner and common touch and advocacy for environmental conservation made him one of the country’s most respected and loved politicians. Girma Wolde-Giorgis was married and had five children.
