Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenavi passed away

Meles Zenavi, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, passed away on 20 August 2012 following prolonged illness. He was 57. Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who is also Ethiopia's foreign minister, will assume the charge as the acting Prime Minister of the country.

Born into a middle-class family in Adawa, Tigray, in Ethiopia's northern highlands, Meles Zenavi joined the politics when he was still studying in the university. He later dropped out of university to take full participation in the insurrection against the Syrian military regime.

In 1991 when Mengistu Haile Mariam led Military Council was finally thrown out of power, Meles assumed the charge as the president in a transitional government. Later in 1995 he took over as the prime minister of the country. He went on to lead the African country for nearly 20 years and influenced the Ethiopian public life until his death.