In early 1974, mutinies by soldiers and growing urban protests signaled a serious breakdown in confidence in Emperor Haile Selassie’s government. Economic pressures, including inflation and hardship, helped drive strikes and demonstrations that spread beyond the military. These events set the stage for a power struggle between the monarchy and emerging forces inside the armed forces.
As unrest expanded, Prime Minister Aklilu Habte-Wold resigned, reflecting the imperial government’s loss of control over events. A new prime minister, Endelkachew Makonnen, was appointed in an effort to calm the crisis. The change did not stop strikes and mutinies, and the government’s authority continued to erode.
The Confederation of Ethiopian Labor Unions (CELU) called a major general strike in early March 1974 after presenting demands on wages and labor rights. The strike disrupted daily life in major cities and demonstrated that organized workers could challenge the state. Even after the strike ended, it encouraged more labor actions and contributed to the overall revolutionary momentum.
Junior and mid-level officers formed the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army—later widely known as the Derg. It began as a body to coordinate the military’s response to the crisis and to investigate corruption, but it quickly became a political force. The Derg’s creation was a turning point because it provided an organized center of power outside the monarchy.
As the Derg expanded its influence, it moved directly against the imperial cabinet by arresting Prime Minister Endelkachew Makonnen. This action showed that real authority was shifting from civilian institutions to the military committee. It also cleared the way for the Derg to dominate government decision-making in Addis Ababa.
The Derg removed Emperor Haile Selassie from power and placed him under arrest, ending the monarchy’s effective control of the state. The deposition came after months of mass protests, strikes, and mutinies that had weakened the imperial system. This event is widely treated as the decisive break between imperial rule and military government.
Shortly after the coup, the military committee renamed itself the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), formalizing its claim to govern. Lieutenant General Aman Andom became chairman and acted as head of state, while internal disagreements began to surface. Creating the PMAC shifted rule from an informal committee to a junta governing largely by decree.
Tensions inside the Derg escalated into a confrontation in which Aman Andom was killed during a clash with troops sent to arrest him. His death removed a prominent figure seen as less aligned with hardliners and signaled that the new regime would use lethal force to settle internal disputes. The episode marked a shift toward more centralized and coercive rule.
On the same day as Aman Andom’s death, the Derg executed dozens of imprisoned officials from the former imperial government at Addis Ababa’s Kerchele (Alem Bekagn) Prison. The killings, later widely known as the “Massacre of the Sixty” or “Black Saturday,” ended hopes that the transition might remain largely bloodless. The executions also deepened fear and polarization as Ethiopia moved into a more violent political era.
The military government publicly declared a commitment to “Ethiopian Socialism,” signaling a move toward a Marxist-Leninist framework and away from the monarchy’s political model. This declaration helped justify sweeping changes to property, administration, and political life. It also clarified that the Derg intended not just to replace leaders, but to transform the state and economy.
The Derg announced a major land reform program that nationalized rural land without compensation and abolished many forms of tenancy. Often summarized as “land to the tiller,” the policy aimed to break the power of large landholders and reshape rural society. It also created new local structures, such as peasant associations, to implement the reforms.
The Derg formally abolished the Ethiopian monarchy, ending the legal basis for imperial rule and titles. This step removed any remaining ambiguity about whether the empire might be restored under a new monarch. It marked a clear outcome of the 1974 revolution: the imperial era was over, and a military-led revolutionary state had taken its place.
The 1974 revolution and the Derg's overthrow of the monarchy (1974-1975)