mengistu haile mariam

An Ethiopian politician who was the leader of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He was the chairman of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia, from 1977 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991.

Effectively a dictator, his rule is remembered for the following historical events: the end of the Solomonic dynasty (which had ruled since the 13th century), ending feudalism era, land redistribution, the Ethiopian Red Terror of 1977–1978, the Somalian-Ethiopian war of 1977-1978, and the 1984 famine. The Ethiopian Red Terror was a period of great political upheaval in Ethiopia that started when the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party known as EHAPA (by its Ethiopian acronym) ignored the invitation by Derg to join the union of socialist parties and instead made an assassination attempt on Mengistu Haile Mariam (the Chairman of Derg) in September 1976. That assassination attempt failed but it was followed by death of many Dergue supporters and ordinary citizens.
The Red Terror was a fight for power and dominance between ERRP and MESON (from its Amharic acronym). The killings from both sides were brutal since it happened when the country was under the threat of Somalian invasion and war. Internal rebellion was not well tolerated.