Bulcha demeksa biography of albert

Borkena

Toronto – Veteran Ethiopian Economist and politicians Bulcha Demeksa passed away at the age of 94 in the capital Addis Ababa.  He was born in 1930 in Wollega. 

He has served as Deputy Minister for Finance during the Imperial government of Haile Selassie I. He has also served as board member of the World bank after he left his country following the Ethiopian Revolution in the mid 1974’s. 

Bulcha returned to Ethiopia after the fall of Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam’s government in 1991. He became active in politics and is among the founder of Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement.

He was a member of the Ethiopian parliament. He was a vocal critic of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for which he gained prominence. While bold and unfearful, his critics were at times comic that it caused laughter in the parliament.  

In the business sector, he was among the founders of Awash Bank in 1994 the first private bank in the country. It is one the major private banks in the country. 

In 2013, he published his autobiography, “My Life, My Vision for the Oromo and Other Peoples of Ethiopia.” 

His words of Ethiopian patriotism  at a time when radical ethnic Oromo nationalism was politically ravaging Ethiopia has been echoing among Ethiopians. “There was no moment when my Oromo identity and Ethiopian identity were at odds with one another.” 

News of his passing has been trending on social media, and entirely positivist. 

Politicians have expressed their condolences. Taye Atske Selassie, Ethiopian President,  expressed “deep sadness” and described him as “great statesman of courage, integrity and political wisdom.” 

Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed shared a picture of himself with the late Bulcha Demeksa in the residence of the latter with a bilingual message of condolence (Amharic and Oromo.) The Amharic text translates to  “I express my sadness at the passing away of Ato Bulcha Demeksa. He served his country and Africa in whatever way he could and was  firm in his stand and  dedicated to bringing people together. He  said what he believed to be true wherever and whenever. Losing such strong elders is a loss for the nation. The Creator accepts their souls.” 

The family has not released details of the funeral arrangement. Sources from Ethiopia say a funeral arrangement will be announced once his children arrive in Addis  from the United States. 

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