ATO MAKONNEN HABTA WALD
Ato Makonnen Habta Wald (1865-December 1960) was an influential member of the Ethiopian government between 1930 and 1960. Born in Bulga, Shawa, he was the eldest son of Alaqa Habta Wald, and the brother of Aklilu Habta Wald. He received a traditional training in the Ge’ez language and literature of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, later supplemented by French studies.
From 1925-33 he was director of the Ministry of Agriculture, and in 1933 went to the Ministry of Commerce. In 1936, during the last weeks of the Italo-Ethiopian war of 1935-36, while Emperor Haile Selassie I was at the front, Makonnen displayed great energy and initiative in keeping control in Addis Ababa.
He worked tirelessly to maintain peace and security, distributing reassuring bulletins, and spending many nights in his auto mobile parked near the palace. After the Ethiopian defeat, he followed the emperor into exile. He stayed in Paris, where he organized a small pension (boarding-house) for other Ethiopian refugees. One of the first to return after the liberation in 1941, he immediately undertook the task of administrative reorganization, being active successively as minister of agriculture (1942-49), commerce and industry (1943-49 and 1957-60), finance (1949-58), and the interior (1958).
He also found time to initiate and direct the Patriotic Association, an organization of Ethiopian guerrilla warfare veterans of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936-41).
Makonnen died as a hostage during the abortive coup against Haile Selassie’s administration in December 1960. A faithful servant of his emperor and country, he shunned honours, wealth, and display all his life.
S.P. PETRIDES
