Imperial Parliament of Ethiopia

Imperial Parliament of Ethiopia የኢትዮጵያ ንጉሠ ነገሥት ፓርላማ
Emperor Haile Selassie giving a speech from the throne in front of parliament
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate and Chamber of Deputies
History
Founded	1931
Disbanded	1974
Succeeded by	National Shengo
Elections
Last Chamber of Deputies election	1973
Meeting place
Ethiopian Parliament Building

The Imperial Parliament of Ethiopia (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ንጉሠ ነገሥት ፓርላማ) was the bicameral legislature of the Ethiopian Empire from 1931 to 1974. It consisted of the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, and the upper house, Senate. The legislature was established in the 1931 Constitution, all members appointed, primarily by the Emperor of Ethiopia. The 1955 Constitution introduced elections to the lower chamber. The Ethiopian Parliament Building was the meeting place of the imperial parliament. The last elections took place in 1973. The legislature was abolished by Derg.

Senate

The Senate, Yaheg Mawossegna Meker-beth(የሕግ መወሰኛ ምክርቤት), was established in 1931. Initially, its members were appointed, and they came from the nobility, the aristocracy, cabinet ministers, and civil servants.[1] The chamber was reformed in the 1955 constitution so that the members were appointed by aristocrats. In 1974, there were 125 members in the chamber.[2]

Senate Presidents

Name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Bidwoded Wolde Tsadeq Goshu	1931	1936	[3]
Gebru Desta	1941	?	[4]
Negash Bezabeh	1942	1943
Blattengeta Lorenzo Taezaz	1943	1944
Tsahafe Taezaz Wolde Maskal	1944	1945	[5]
Mangasha Jambare	1945	1946
Ras Bidwoded Makonnen Endelkachew	1957	1961	[6]
Ras Asrate Kassa	1961[7]	1964
Lt-Gen. Abey Abeba	1964	1974	[1][8]

Chamber of Deputies

The Chamber of Deputies, Yaheg Mamria Meker-beth, was established in 1931. Initially, the members were chosen by the Emperor of Ethiopia, the nobility and the aristocrats.[1] The chamber was reformed by the 1955 constitution, and members were to be elected. In 1974, there were 250 members in the chamber.[2]

Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies

Name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Blattengeta Belatcho Yadete	1943[9]	1945-?	[5]
Grazmatch Gebre Kristos Wolde Michael	?-1953	1953-?
Lij Haile Mariam Kebede	1955	1957
Wossen Hailu	1957	1960	[10]
Girma Wolde-Giorgis	1961	1965	[11]
Fitawrari Bayissa Jemmo	?-1966	1967
Ato Tadesse Taye	1967	1969-?	[12]
Ato Seife Taddese	1970	1974	[13]
Ato Abebe Wendimeneh	1974	1974	[14]

See also

• List of legislatures by country

References

1. Prouty, Chris; Rosenfeld, Eugene (1981). Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1448-X.
2. "Elections During the Reign of Emperor Haile Selassie" (PDF). Archived from the original on 9 June 2011.
3. Campbell, Ian (2017). The Addis Ababa massacre: Italy's national shame. London: Hurst & Company. ISBN 9781849046923.
4. Wubneh, Mulatu (1 January 2023). Planning for Cities in Crisis: Lessons from Gondar, Ethiopia. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-031-18416-1.
5. "Image" (PDF).
6. Ethiopia Observer. 1956.
7. Ethiopia Observer. 1961.
8. Shinn, David; Ofcansky, Thomas (2013). Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7457-2.
9. British Documents on Foreign Affairs--reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Africa, 1944. University Publications of America. 1998. ISBN 978-1-55655-676-0.
10. Haile Selassie I (1994). My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: Addis Abeba, 1966 E.C. Michigan State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87013-308-4.
11. Agriculture, United States Congress House Committee on (1965). "Agriculture in Africa, a Report of the Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Operations of ..."
12. "Bulletin of the Inter-parliamentary Union". The Union. 1966.
13. "Ethiopia Says Ex-Official Blocked News of Famine". The New York Times. 10 September 1974.
14. Ǧambaré, ʼAbarā (2005). Agony in the Grand Palace: 1974-1982. Shama Books. ISBN 9781931253147.