Meles Zenawi Asres was born on 9 May 1955, in Adwa, Ethiopia, and was a politician, best known to have served as Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 to 2012. He was also the chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) and leader of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). All of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 2012.
How rich was Meles Zenawi? As of early-2017, sources inform us of a net worth that was at $3 billion, mostly garnered through his career in politics. He also served as the President of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia, and all of these achievements ensured the position of his wealth.
Meles Zenawi Net Worth $3 billion
Zenawi attended General Wingate High School on a full scholarship, matriculating in 1972. He then attended Addis Ababa University for two years, but dropped out to become part of the Tigrayan National Organization (TNO). This would later become the TPLF and he also established the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray. He became a known name in the struggle against the Derg regime, and then ascended to power after the end of the Ethiopian Civil War in 1991. He became the president of the transitional government of Ethiopia, which had mixed support from other countries. The peace was created after intervention from the United States to facilitate peace talks. Despite the general acceptance of the change of leadership at the time, there was still a lot of opposition from different parts of Ethiopia.
Since then, Zenawi worked on various policies, including gaining a larger share of the Nile River to have more hydropower prospects. He also helped with trying to stabilise the situation in Somalia, and granting Eritrea its independence. However this would later lead to the 1998 Eritrean-Ethiopian War, which would only be resolved through a peace treaty after Ethiopia’s counter-attack, when Meles decided to sign a United Nations Peace Treaty. Later on, a threat to invade Ethiopia was noticed and it led to him declaring war on the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The war was supported by the African Union and the United States and led to the successful driving out of the ICU. The ICU then splintered into numerous small factions which tried to regain control of areas, but failed to do so. Zenawi then focused on climate change policies.
Meles has also been criticized for numerous issues and scandals during his time as leader. It was known that the Oromo people were heavily discriminated during his regime, and there was also conflict against the Anuaks, which led to many being killed in 2003. It was also reported the he had helped in jailing political leaders, journalists, and activists to help shape the country’s politics in his way. In 2006, it was reported that police massacred 193 protesters however the report was then opposed stating that it was highly sensationalized. Another report was given stating that six policemen were killed and around 763 people were injured during the conflict which was an anti-government protest. This led to leaders of the main opposition party being imprisoned. Some of the journalists and publishers have since been acquitted, but other leaders remain imprisoned. They were only released after a long process.
For his personal life, it is known that Zenawi was married to Azeb Mesfin who is a Member of Parliament; he also had three children. In 2012, rumors started spreading about his health, and in August it was reported that he had passed away after contracting an infection. Many attended his funeral, and thousands of mourners greeted the return of his body to Ethiopia from Belgium, where he had been undergoing treatment.
