Hailu Yimenu

Who was Hailu Yimenu?

Hailu Yimenu was acting prime minister of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from November 8, 1989 until May 1991.

In May 1991, after hearing of Mengistu Haile Mariam's fall from power, he fled to the Italian embassy in Addis Ababa, along with Lieutenant General Tesfaye Gebre Kidan, Foreign Minister Berhanu Bayeh and Chief of General Staff Addis Tedla. He was succeeded by Tesfaye Dinka.

While the other two remained at the embassy for years, Hailu committed suicide on May 26, 1991, after only a short time in the embassy compound.

Following the death of General Tesfaye thirteen years later on June 2, 2004, rumors began to circulate caused by the embassy's lack of detail on the death of both General Tesfaye and Hailu's earlier suicide. The Ethiopian government demanded Italian records on the incidents during that month.