Fikre Selassie Wogderess

Who is Fikre Selassie Wogderess?

Fikre Selassie Wogderess, was the Prime Minister of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 10 September 1987 to 8 November 1989.

Fikre had been one of the more obscure members of the Derg, until the coup of 3 February 1977, in which Secretary-General Tafari Benti was killed along with seven other Derg members. The coup elevated him to Secretary-General, in which post he would occasionally dispel "the atmosphere of total sycophancy" with his "fractionally independent disposition."

While Prime Minister, Fikre Selassie made a trip to Cairo in November 1988 to seek improved relations with Egypt, and to express support for Egypt's offer to negotiate a settlement of the Eritrean conflict. Mengistu Haile Mariam ordered him removed, having criticized him three days prior in a meeting of the Politburo of the Workers Party of Ethiopia, stating "there is no one quite like Fikre Selassie, who sits idly and quietly. One time, he sat here reading a magazine.... He is not antirevolutionary or a criminal, nor is he conspiratorial.... But he is unstable and even rude.... He is being expelled for disciplinary reasons also."