Transitional Government of Tigray

In March 2018 Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, resigned in favour of reforms that intended to lead to sustainable peace and democracy, ceding power to a government led by Abiy Ahmed. Abiy tried to unite all the regional political parties in a single centralized political party. The TPLF, the dominant party in the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), refused, and the Prosperity Party was created as a merger of three other EPRDF member parties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Election Board of Ethiopia postponed a federal election planned for later in 2020. The TPLF established its own regional Electoral Board for holding a Tigrayan region election, which the House of Federation (HoF) objected to. The Tigray regional election was held on 9 September 2020 with the TPLF winning all of the seats contested and 98.2% of the vote. On 7 October 2020 the HoF decided to stop any relationship the federal government has with the Tigray regional state assembly and the region's highest executive body. The HoF cut budget subsidies to the state, banned all federal institutions from sending letters and information to Tigray's higher executive bodies or providing support to their institutions and prohibited the region from participating in national level forums. The Tigray government described this as a declaration of war against the region. During November 2020, the conflict between the federal and Tigrayan authorities became a military conflict, with federal forces claiming to have occupied the regional capital Mekelle by late November 2020. ==Creation of the transitional government==

Abiy Ahmed stated to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation on 4 November 2020 that the Ethiopian National Defense Force, which was camped in the area of Mekelle, was attacked by the Tigray Special Forces. The TPLF stated that the attack was pre-emptive. Following this, the Ethiopian federal government started an operation to take action that it described as aiming to restore the rule of law and declared a six-month state of emergency in Tigray. The HoF then allowed the federal government to intervene into Tigray and formed the Tigray Transitional Government. ==Leadership and structure==

From around 13 November 2020 to 6 May 2021, the Chief Executive Officer of the Tigray Transitional Government was Mulu Nega. Alula Habteab was head of the Construction, Roads and Transport Bureau in late February 2021. Dismissals Alula Habteab was dismissed from his Construction, Roads and Transport Bureau position in mid-March 2021. EEPA stated the likely reason for the dismissal as Alula's public statement in February 2021 that the EDF, ENDF and Amhara Region forces had "completely destroyed 30 years" of infrastructure development in Tigray Region. Amdom Gebreselassie, vice head of the Public Relations Bureau, was also dismissed from his position in mid-March 2021. EEPA stated the likely reason for the dismissal as Amdom's earlier statements calling for an independent investigation into the war crimes in the Tigray War and his statement that Amhara forces and the EDF were involved in the war crimes. Amdom stated that the two dismissals were decisions by the federal Ethiopian government. He attributed his own dismissal as being a result of his call for legal action against the perpetrators of sexual violence in the Tigray War and a public statement made by Arena Tigray, of which he heads public relations. Amdom described the dismissals as "undemocratic" and limiting Transitional Government officials' freedom of action. Amdom claimed that the Transitional Government leadership internally agreed on fundamental issues, but disagreed on whether to state their opinions publicly or keep them private. ==Powers==

Mulu Nega stated that the four main powers of the transition administration would be: • recreating regional executive institutions; • appointing regional and zonal leaders guided by public consultations, but not woreda and kebele leaders; • "ensuring law and order"; • running the 2021 Ethiopian general election as mandated by the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE); The administration would also be empowered to "actively [implement] tasks assigned to it by the federal government". Excluded powers , the resolution of land claim disputes, expected for historical reasons in the "Raya, Telemt and Wolkait areas", were excluded from the planned powers of the transitional administration. ==Territorial control==

On 3 February 2021, Mark Lowcock, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that federal Ethiopian authorities controlled about 60% to 80% of the Tigray Region and that forces allied with the ENDF were "pursuing their own goals". According to a refugee from Humera, Gush Tela, the Fano vigilante youth group took control of a judicial court in Humera. According to Wazema Radio on the following day, the Federal Emergency Proclamation task force had not confirmed the number of people forcibly removed and the Regional Government of Amhara denied the claim of forcible removals. Debubawi Zone (south) On 16 December 2020, Mulu appointed Million Aberah as the Chief executive officer of Debubawi Zone. In early February, the transitional government confirmed that the southern zone was run by Amhara Region. Eritrean Defence Forces Semien Mi'irabawi Zone (northwest) On 2 December 2020, Mulu claimed that residents of the kebeles in Shire Inda Selassie, a woreda in Semien Mi'irabawi Zone (North West Tigray), each elected about 20 representatives, who together elected 25 members forming a new Woreda Council. The Council elected five of its members as its Cabinet. Mulu stated that a mayor of the woreda was elected. In early February 2021, the transitional government stated that the presence of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) in the northwest zone "added to the challenge" of administering the zone. Misraqawi Zone (east) In early February 2021, the transitional government stated that the presence of the EDF in the eastern zone "added to the challenge" of administering the zone. Other , administrative control of Debub Misraqawi Zone (southeast) and of the part of Maekelay Zone south of the Shire–Adigrat road was unclear. == Departure from Tigray ==

The Transitional Government fled Tigray in late June 2021 during Operation Alula, in which the Tigray Defense Forces took control of Mekelle. On 23 March 2023, as part of the November 2022 Ethiopia–Tigray peace agreement, a new transitional government, the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray, to be headed by Getachew Reda, was declared by the Prime Minister's Office. == List of Chief Executive Officers of the Transitional Government of Tigray ==

• Mulu Nega (13 November 2020–6 May 2021) • Abraham Belay (6 May 2021–28 June 2021) == See also ==