# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/mengistu-haile-mariam
# Generated: 2026-08-31T18:48:00.711Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/mengistu-haile-mariam"
name: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
slug: "mengistu-haile-mariam"
description: "He led Ethiopia for fourteen years through purges, famine, and civil war. The Red Terror of 1977–1978 alone killed tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—in his consolidation of power. An Ethiopian court convicted him of genocide in absentia, but he lives freely in Zimbabwe still."
tagline: "Former General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Ethiopia"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam_4.jpg"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Italy"
  isoCode: "IT"
category:
  name: "Politicians"
  slug: "politicians"
profileType:
  name: "Politician"
  slug: "politician"
birthDate: "1937-05-21"
livingStatus: "LIVING"
scores:
  popularity:           61.36
  momentum:             4.011708236721132
  historical:           25.278612
  currentAttention:     18.17832581884529
  sourceConfidence:     65
  profileCompleteness:  75
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "20th Century"
    slug: "20th-century"
platforms:
  - platform:  "FACEBOOK"
    url:       "https://www.facebook.com/guadmengistu"
    handle:    "guadmengistu"
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192512"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Mengistu%20Haile%20Mariam"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%86%D8%BA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88_%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7_%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%85"
    title: "منغستو هيلا مريام"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88_%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7_%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%85"
    title: "منجستو هيلا مريام"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D1%83_%D0%A5%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%B5_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8F%D0%BC"
    title: "Менгісту Хайле Марыям"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%83_%D0%A5%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%B5_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BC"
    title: "Менгисту Хайле Мариам"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9E%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9F%E0%A7%81_%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%B2_%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE"
    title: "মেঞ্জিস্টু হেইল মরিয়াম"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://din.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C9%9B%C5%8Bitho_H%C9%9Bila_Mari%C9%9Bm"
    title: "Mɛŋitho Hɛila Mariɛm"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9C%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%B3%CE%BA%CE%AF%CF%83%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%A7%CE%B1%CF%8A%CE%BB%CE%AD_%CE%9C%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%AC%CE%BC"
    title: "Μενγκίστου Χαϊλέ Μαριάμ"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88_%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%87_%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85"
    title: "منگیستو هایله ماریام"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%98%D7%95_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%94_%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%90%D7%9D"
    title: "מנגיסטו היילה מריאם"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengisztu_Hail%C3%A9_Mariam"
    title: "Mengisztu Hailé Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Menghistu_Hail%C3%A9_Mari%C3%A0m"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mengystu_Hajle_Marjam"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://sr.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%83_%D0%A5%D0%B0%D1%98%D0%BB%D0%B5_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0%D0%BC"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam"
    title: "Mengistu Haile Mariam"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Mengistu Haile Mariam came to power after the Derg—the Marxist–Leninist junta he eventually chaired—overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, ending a dynasty that had ruled since the 13th century. He purged rivals within the Derg and declared himself dictator, attempting to modernize Ethiopia's feudal economy through nationalization and land redistribution. His government fought the Ogaden War against Somalia in 1977–1978, relying heavily on Soviet and Cuban allies to secure victory, while simultaneously battling the Eritrean independence movement and crushing internal opposition. The catastrophic famine of 1983–1985 drew international attention as his government's policies and mismanagement contributed to deaths estimated between 500,000 and 2,000,000. He fled to Zimbabwe in May 1991 when his government dissolved, ending the Ethiopian Civil War, and remains in Harare today despite the genocide conviction.