Amhara Region

After the social movements of 2014–2017, Amhara nationalism developed strongly in the region, with a discourse that includes both issues of power balance between elites and territorial claims. Several local politicians, such as Dejene Maru backed by General Asaminew Tsige, were able to control armed factions.[6]

On 22 June 2019, factions of the security forces of the region attempted a coup d'état against the regional government, during which the President of the Amhara region, Ambachew Mekonnen, was assassinated.[7] A bodyguard siding with the nationalist factions assassinated General Se'are Mekonnen – the Chief of the General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force – as well as his aide, Major General Gizae Aberra.[7] The Prime Minister's Office accused Brigadier General Asaminew Tsige, head of the Amhara region security forces, of leading the plot,[8] and Tsige was shot dead by police near Bahir Dar on 24 June.[9]

The Blue Nile Falls near Bahir Dar

According to the Ethiopian government website, the Amhara Highlands receive 80% of Ethiopia’s total annual rainfall of and are the country's most fertile and climatically hospitable region.[10] Lake Tana, in the Amhara Region, is the source of the Blue Nile—at Bahir Dar. When the Blue Nile's flow is at maximum volume (during the rainy season from June to September), it supplies about two-thirds of the water of the Nile proper. Until the 1970 completion of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, the Blue Nile, together with the Atbara River to its north (which also flows out of the Ethiopian Highlands), caused annual Nile floods that contributed to the fertility of the Nile Valley, enabling the rise of ancient Egyptian civilization, which in turn enabled the development of Egyptian mythology.

Lake Tana contains several islands, whose numbers vary depending on the water level in the lake. (Over the last 400 years, that level has fallen about 2 metres (6.6 ft).) In the early 17th century, according to a contemporaneous report by Manoel de Almeida, a Portuguese missionary, there were 21 islands, which he described as "formerly large, but now much diminished,” and seven or eight of them had monasteries on them.[11] In the late 18th century, James Bruce visited the area and noted that, though the locals reported that there were 45 inhabited islands, he believed that "the number may be about eleven."[11] A mid-twentieth-century account reported 37 islands and said that 19 of were the current or former sires of either monasteries or churches.[11]

Jin Bahir Falls in the Semien Mountains

The lake islands were the home of ancient Ethiopian emperors. Treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated island monasteries (including Kebran Gabriel, Ura Kidane Mehret, Narga Selassie, Daga Estifanos, Medhane Alem of Rema, Kota Maryam and Mertola Maryam). The body of Yekuno Amlak is interred in the monastery of St. Stephen on Daga Island; other Emperors whose tombs are on Daga include Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel and Fasilides. Other important islands in Lake Tana include Dek, Mitraha, Gelila Zakarias, Halimun, and Briguida.

In the late 20th century, the scholar Paul B. Henze reported being shown a rock on the island of Tana Qirqos and being told it was where the Virgin Mary had rested during her journey back from Egypt. He was also told that Saint Frumentius, the bishop known for introducing Christianity to Ethiopia, was "allegedly buried on Tana Cherqos."[12]

At 91.47% of the local population, the region is predominantly inhabited by people from the Semitic-speaking Amhara ethnic group. Most other residents hail from other Afro-Asiatic language communities, including the Agaw/Awi, Oromo, Beta Israel, Qemant, Agaw/Kamyr and Argobba. Gumuz is another community located in parts in Amhara Region, speaking a Nilo-Saharan language.[19]

The predominant religion of the Amhara for centuries has been Christianity, with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church playing a central role in the culture of the country. According to the 2007 census, 82.5% of the population of the Amhara region (which is 91.2% Amhara) were Ethiopian Orthodox; 17.2% were Muslim, and 0.2% were Protestant ("P'ent'ay").[19] The Ethiopian Orthodox Church maintains close links with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Easter and Epiphany are the most important celebrations, marked with services, feasting and dancing. There are also many fast days throughout the year, when only vegetables or fish may be eaten.

Marriages are often arranged, with men marrying in their late teens or early twenties.[24] Traditionally, girls were married as young as 14, but in the 20th century, the minimum age was raised to 18. After a church wedding, divorce is frowned upon.[24] Each family hosts a separate wedding feast after the wedding.

Traditionally, upon childbirth, a priest will visit the family to bless the infant. The mother and child remain in the house for 40 days after birth for physical and emotional strength. The infant will be taken to the church for baptism at 40 days (for boys) or 80 days (for girls).[25]

There are several industrial parks that are in operation or under construction. The Kombolcha IP was built at a cost of $90 million and employs 20,000 people.[26] Arerti IP and Debre Birhan IP are under construction.[27]

A farmer carrying hay from the fields to his home, Amhara

About 90% of the Amhara are rural and make their living through farming, mostly in the Ethiopian highlands. Barley, corn, millet, wheat, sorghum, and teff, along with beans, peppers, chickpeas, and other vegetables, are the most important crops. In the highlands one crop per year is normal, while in the lowlands two are possible. Cattle, sheep, and goats are also raised. The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in Amhara had a total of 9,694,800 head of cattle (representing 25% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 6,390,800 sheep (36.7%), 4,101,770 goats (31.6%), 257,320 horses (17%), 8,900 mules (6%), 1,400,030 asses (55.9%), 14,270 camels (3.12%), 8,442,240 poultry of all species (27.3%), and 919,450 beehives (21.1%).[28]

There are ten public universities in Amhara Region[29]

• Bahir Dar University, in Bahir Dar, established in 2001
• Debre Berhan University, in Debre Berhan, established in 2007
• Debre Markos University, in Debre Markos, established in 2007

• Injibara University, in Injibara, established in 2015
• Wollo University, in Dessie and Kombolcha, established in 2007
• University of Gondar, in Gondar, established in 2003
• Debre Tabor University, in Debre Tabor, established in 2008
• Woldia University, in Woldia, established in 2011
• Mekdela Amba University, in South Wollo, established in 2015[30]
• Debark University, established in 2020
• Injibara University, Injibara, Established in 2020

The executive branch is headed by the Chief Administrator of Amhara Region. The current Chief Administrator is Yilikal Kefale, a Prosperity Party member who was elected on 30 September 2021. The current vice president is Alemnew Mekonnen. The other offices in the executive branch cabinet are the Regional Health Bureau (Dr. Abebaw Gebeyehu), Educational Bureau (Yilikal Kefyalew), and 20 other officials.[31]

There are three levels of the Amhara state judiciary. The lowest level is the court of common pleas: each woreda maintains its own constitutionally mandated court of common pleas, which maintain jurisdiction over all justiciable matters. The intermediate-level court system is the district court system. Four courts of appeals exist, each retaining jurisdiction over appeals from common pleas, municipal, and county courts in an administrative zone. A case heard in this system is decided by a three-judge panel, and each judge is elected.

The highest-ranking court, the Amhara Supreme Court, is Amhara's "court of last resort". A seven-justice panel composes the court, which, by its own discretion, hears appeals from the courts of appeals, and retains original jurisdiction over limited matters. The chief judge is called the President of Amhara Supreme Court (Yeneneh Simegn).[32]

The State Council, which is the highest administrative body of the state, is made up of 294 members.[33]

Amhara is represented by 138 representatives in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia House of Peoples' Representatives.

Like other regions in Ethiopia, Amhara is subdivided into administrative zones.