https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GydnwzRWiDY
Negasso Gidada Solon was born on September 8, 1943, in Dembi Dolo, capital of Kelam Welega Zone of the Oromia Region. He earned his first degree from Addis Ababa University (known then as Haileselassie I University at the time) in 1971. After graduation, he worked as a school principal for four years. Following the break out of the Ethiopian revolution, he left for Germany and earned his doctorate in social history from the Goethe University in Frankfurt-am-Main. During his time in Europe, Dr. Negasso married to Regina Abelt, a German nurse and midwife.
He was an active member of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). After his return to Ethiopia in 1991, Negasso had been Minister of Information in the Transitional Government of Ethiopia and Central Committee member of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organisation (OPDO). He became president on 22 August 1995 and served till on 8 October 2001. Before the end of his term, he was expelled from both the OPDO and the EPRDF coalition on 22 June.
In the 2005 general elections, Negasso was elected to the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives as an independent from Dembidolo in the Mirab Welega Zone of the Oromia Region. In July 2008, Negasso became a founding member of the Forum for Democratic Dialogue (FDD), a new coalition of opposition parties and activists. Then in November 2009, he announced he had joined the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ), one of the eight parties in the FDD, to try to unite Ethiopia. At the time of his announcement, he also asked forgiveness from Ethiopians for deceiving them that Ethiopia’s current constitution was ratified in 1995 with the full participation of all political parties in a democratic manner. “There were a number of political parties that were excluded from the process,” he said during the ceremony when he and Siye Abraha were officially inducted into the UDJ. Recently, Prime Minister Abiy’s administration appointed Dr. Negasso as a member of the National Reconciliation Commission.
Dr. Negasso passed away on April 27, 2019, in Frankfurt Germany due to health problems. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed extended his condolences to the people of Ethiopia and his family over the passing of the former president, according to the office of the Prime Minister. A national committee to oversee the funeral arrangements is being established and will communicate the details accordingly, the office added. Mereja TV would like to express our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.
