Workers Party of Ethiopia
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Workers' Party of Ethiopia
የኢትዮጵያ ሠራተኞች ፓርቲ |
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| Leader | Mengistu Haile Mariam |
| Founded | September 12, 1984 |
| Dissolved | May 28, 1991 |
| Preceded by | Commission for Organizing the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia |
| Headquarters | Addis Ababa, People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |
| Newspaper | Serto Ader |
| Ideology |
Communism Marxism–Leninism |
| Party flag | |
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The Workers' Party of Ethiopia (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ሠራተኞች ፓርቲ?, Ye Ityopia Serategnoch Parti) was a communist party in Ethiopia that was, from 1984 to 1990, the only legal political party in the country.
In 1975—a year after overthrowing Haile Selassie—the Derg declared itself Communist. Soon afterward, the Soviet Union began to pressure the Derg to create a civilian-based vanguard party. Mengistu Haile Mariam, leader of the Derg and head of state of Ethiopia, argued against such a party, stating that the revolution had succeeded without one and that there was no need. However, by the late 1970s, in the face of increasing armed opposition to the Derg's rule, it became increasingly apparent that a civilian party would be required to gain any measure of control over the population. In December 1979, Mengistu announced the creation of the Commission for Organizing the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia (COPWE).
A number of mass organisations, such as the Revolutionary Ethiopia Youth Association, were also established. It was hoped that these organisations would help lead to a unified party that would eliminate sectarianism and be based on broad (yet clearly defined) class interests. The organisations were also to act as the political consciousness of Ethiopia at a more personal level by not only representing Ethiopians at congresses, but also in the workplace and in educational institutes. Membership in multiple mass organisations was encouraged.
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