The Derg

1974 - Haile Selassie was overthrown by the 'Derg', a new military regime committed to destroying the feudal system and installing communist rule throughout the country.

1975 - Haile Selassie died under mysterious circumstances while being held in custody.

1975-1978 - The new regime rapidly degenerated into a bloodbath known as the 'Red Terror'. Approximately 30,000 opponents were rounded up and executed and their bodies thrown on the streets.

Mengistu Haile Mariam emerged as dictator. Declaring Ethiopia a Socialist People's Republic, he turned to the Soviet Union, which backed him in fighting an invasion from Somalia.

1984-1985 - Ethiopia was devastated by famine. At least half a million people died and millions more lost their homes and livelihoods. The shocking news footage of starving children initiated a huge response from the international community.

Rebellions against Communist rule sprang up particularly in the northern regions of Tigray and Eritrea.

1989 - The Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with other ethnically-based opposition movements to form the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).