Army of the Derg
| Army of the Derg | |
|---|---|
The Derg as Coordinated Committee of the Armed Forces during the Ethiopian Revolution in 1974 | |
| Founded | 21 June 1974 |
| Disbanded | 28 May 1991 |
| Service branches | Navy Air Force Ground Force |
| Headquarters | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Major Mengistu Haile Mariam (1974-1991) |
| Personnel | |
| Conscription | 18 |
| Active personnel | 388,000 (1974-1991) |
| Related articles | |
| History | Ethiopian Civil War
|
The Army of the Derg, formed from officers of the Imperial Ethiopian Army, drew primarily from four divisions: Division I (Imperial Guard, Addis Ababa), Division II (counter-insurgency, Eritrea), Division III (mechanized, Harar), and Division IV (Addis Ababa, overseeing southwestern Ethiopia).
Influenced by the 1960s student movement, the army reflected three sociopolitical classes: senior officers (military upper class), junior and intermediate officers (military middle class, often in their 20s–30s, acting as civil intelligentsia), and rank-and-file with NCOs, addressing socioeconomic unrest. Officers were predominantly Amhara (80% of generals, 65% of colonels), followed by Tigreans, Oromos, Gurage, and a few Muslims.