ILG, AIFRED
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Alfred Ilg (March 30. 1854-January 7, 1916), a Swiss craftsman, was the principal diplomatic adviser to Emperor Menilek II [reigned 1889-1913].
PHOTO CAPTION: Alfred Ilg . SOURCE: EA Library
He was born in Frauenfeld, northeast of Zurich, Switzerland, and studied at the Zurich Polytechnic. In 1878 he went to Ethiopia with two compatriots at the request of Menilek, then king of Shawa, who had asked a Swiss trader at the port of Aden to find him some young European craftsmen able to act as engineers and to train Ethiopian workers.
On his arrival, Menilek asked Ilg to make him a pair of shoes, which he did although unacquainted with the trade. The king then requested him to make a rifle. Ilg protested his ignorance, adding that an imported one would be superior. Menilek insisted, however, and Ilg did as he was asked. The monarch, highly pleased, ordered the gun to be kept in a place of honor in his armory.
Ilg, who received a salary of £7 or $ 8 sterling each month, was involved in some of Menilek’s early technical innovations. He built the first modern bridge over the Awash River in 1887, and a few years later erected Menilek’s palaces at Entoto, 3 mi (5 km) north of Addis Ababa, and at Addis Ababa itself. He also installed the country’s first piped water supply for palace use, in 1894.
The public could not believe that water could flow up-hill, but Menilek, a great advocate of innovation, was easily convinced. When the tap was first turned on, however the water refused to flow, for a European “friend” had secretly stopped up the pipe with cotton. The system was nevertheless put into speedy operation, and was greatly acclaimed.
Well satisfied, Menilek gave Ilg a concession, on March 9, 1894, to build and operate a railroad from Jibuti through the capital to the White Nile. The railroad was built from the coast to Addis Ababa, but the latter stretch was never completed.
Ilg accompanied Menilek on several expeditions — for example to Tegré in 1889-90, and to Lake Zway in 1893. He was also sent to Europe on business. In 1887, he made an abortive attempt to purchase bullet-making machinery, and equipment for a mint. In 1891, he met members of the Italian cabinet in Rome. At that time, and again later, after another visit in 1994, he warned Menilek of Italian plans to invade Ethiopia.
After the opening of diplomatic relations with foreign powers which followed the Ethiopian victory at Adwa in 1896, Menilek put Ilg in charge of foreign policy, appointing him chancellor of state on March 27, 1897. His duties were to interview foreign representatives and to conduct diplomatic correspondence on Menilek’s behalf.
He thus played a prominent part in the negotiations leading to the peace treaty with Italy, as well as to the concluding of treaties with the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and other powers. Though a foreigner, Ilg was well trusted, for he came from a small neutral country without colonial ambitions.
He served Menilek for 20 years with loyalty and devotion. He finally retired from the emperor’s service in 1906. He died of a heart ailment in Switzerland on January 7, 1916.
RICHARD PANKHURST
