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Federal Parliamentary Assembly የፌዴራል ፓርላማ ምክር ቤት | |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | House of Federation (upper house) House of Peoples' Representatives (lower house) |
| History | |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Preceded by | Council of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
| Seats | 659 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Ethiopian Parliament Building,Addis Ababa,Ethiopia 9°01′48″N38°45′45″E / 9.0301235°N 38.7623748°E /9.0301235; 38.7623748 | |
| Website | |
| House of People's Representatives House of Federation | |
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Judiciary |
TheFederal Parliamentary Assembly (Amharic:የፌዴራል ፓርላማ ምክር ቤት,romanized: Ye-Fēdēralawī Parilama Mikir Bēt) is the federallegislature ofEthiopia. It consists of two chambers:
Created with the adoption of theEthiopian Constitution of 1995, the Parliament replaced theNational Shengo as the legislative branch of theEthiopian government.
TheImperial Parliament of Ethiopia was first convened by EmperorHaile Selassie in 1931,[1] although it was largely an advisory and feudal body, and was consolidated under the1931 constitution. The bi-cameral, equal-numbered parliament consisted of the upper Senate (composed largely of nobility, the aristocracy, ministers, Distinguished Veterans and military commanders) and the lower Chamber of Deputies (constituting members chosen by the Emperor, the nobility and the aristocrats).
It was interrupted by the Italian invasion in 1936, and did not meet again until after 1941. By 1955, elders in the districts largely elected the landed aristocrats to the Senate.
The1955 constitution introduced new arrangements tothe parliament, including the election of members to the Chamber of Deputies as well as the growth of the lower house to 250 members as opposed to the 125 members of the Senate by 1974. However, deputies largely consisted of feudal lords, rich merchants and high-level members of the civil service. Real power remained in the hands of the Emperor. The parliament would meet in five sessions from 1955 to 1974.[1]
When themonarchy was overthrown, parliament was replaced with a transitional assembly of 60 select members from government institutions and provinces from 1974 to 1975, after which the government largely operated by decree through the military junta headed byMengistu Haile Mariam. The period without some semblance of a legislature ended in 1987, when thePeople's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was established under anew constitution drafted by Mengistu and theWorkers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE).
The new Constitution established an 835-member legislature, theNational Shengo (National Council), as the highest organ of state power. Its members were elected to five-year terms. Executive power was vested in apresident, elected by the Shengo for a five-year term, and a cabinet also appointed by the Shengo. The president was chairman of the Council of State, which acted for the legislature between sessions. Actual power, however, rested in the WPE (and particularly with Mengistu), defined as the leading force of state and society. The National Shengo, while nominally vested with great lawmaking powers, actually did little more thanrubber-stamp decisions made by Mengistu and the WPE.
FollowingMengistu's overthrow in 1991, the Shengo was abolished, and aperiod of transition lasted until 1995, when a new legislature was inaugurated under thenew constitution.
