Issayas Afeworki

Issayas Afeworki (sometimes written Afworki), born the February 2nd 1946 with Asmara (then in Ethiopia), is the President in exercise of the Eritrean State, posts some since the May 24th 1993, date of the independence of the country, separated from Ethiopia.

Born in the province from Érythrée, Afeworki leaves to finish its studies of engineer with Addis-Abeba, the Ethiopian capital in 1965. He attends the Eritrean independence circles and returns to the Front of release of Érythrée (FLE) which carries out the fight against the Ethiopian occupant. In 1970 the liberation popular front of Erythrée (LPLE) intervenes which is a group with Christian predominance of Marxist obedience and which will compete with the FLE which a Moslem group during the American Civil War this is why one will speak for this period about double civil war.

Afeworki is the general secretary of the FPLE since 1987. When in 1993, after nearly thirty years of military fight, Érythrée obtains the independence of Ethiopia, Afeworki takes the title of President.

In February 1994, the FPLE is famous Front for justice and the democracy (FJD) at the time of its third congress and Afeworki remains the general secretary of the sole party of the new State.

Since the beginning of its mandate, Afeworki founded a mode with sole party, without elections, an economy centralized with paramount role of the State and a strong restriction of freedom of the press.

Within the FJD of the voices rose in 2001 to ask to the President the application of the Constitution approved in 1997 and a larger political expansion and social. Afeworki answered shortly after by imprisoning the protestors (of which its vice-president, Mahmud Ahmed Sherifo) and the journalists who had had the echo of these criticisms.

Afeworki is subjected to international pressures so that its country, located at the crossroads of a zone “terroristogene” (Yemen, Sudan, Somalia) basic serf with the American and European forces . This geostrategic position makes it possible Afeworki to use police methods in the national political life without being too much worried by possible international sanctions, in particular of the international backers like the the IMF or the the World Bank.

See too

• List of the current leaders