udicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President MENGISTU Haile-Mariam (Chairman from
11 September 1977 until becoming President on 10 September 1987);
Vice President FISSEHA Desta (since 10 September 1987);

Head of Government--Prime Minister (Acting) and Deputy Prime
Minister HAILU Yimenu (since 7 November 1989);
Deputy Prime Minister WOLLE Chekol (since 21 November 1989);
Deputy Prime Minister ALEMU Abebe (since 10 September 1987);
Deputy Prime Minister TESFAYE Dinka (since 10 September 1987);
Deputy Prime Minister ASHAGRE Yigletu (since 21 November 1989)

Political parties and leaders: only party--Workers' Party of
Ethiopia (WPE), Mengistu Haile-Mariam, secretary general

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
President--last held 10 September 1987 (next to be held September
1992);
results--National Assembly elected President Mengistu Haile-Mariam;

National Assembly--last held 14 June 1987 (next to be
held June 1992);
results--WPE is the only party;
seats--(835 total) WPE 835

Other political or pressure groups: important dissident groups include
Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) in Eritrea; Tigrean People's
Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement
in Tigray, Welo, and border regions; Oromo Liberation Front in Welega and
Harerge regions

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICO, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Counselor, Charge d'Affaires ad interim
GIRMA Amare; Chancery at 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 234-2281 or 2282;
US--Charge d'Affaires Robert G. HOUDEK; Embassy at Entoto Street,
Addis Ababa (mailing address is P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa);
telephone 254-233-4141

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red;
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and the colors of her flag
were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they
became known as the pan-African colors

- Economy
Overview: Ethiopia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in
Africa. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for
about 45% of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment; coffee generates
over 60% of export earnings. The manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on
inputs from the agricultural sector. The economy