Remembering the Lion of Ethiopia: Professor Asrat Woldeyes Lives On in Hearts and Minds

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By Ethiopian Tribune Editorial Team.

On this Father’s Day, as we approach what would have been his 97th birthday on 20 June, we honour Professor Asrat Woldeyes, a man whose paternal legacy extends far beyond his own family to embrace an entire nation. Happy Father’s Day, Professor. Happy Birthday, dear Lion of Ethiopia.

The Surgeon Who Healed More Than Bodies

In the corridors of Tikur Anbessa Hospital, where Professor Asrat Woldeyes once wielded his scalpel with the precision of a master craftsman, nurses still speak of him in hushed, reverent tones. As Ethiopia’s first Western-trained surgeon and the founder of Addis Ababa University’s Medical Faculty, Asrat Woldeyes transformed not just individual lives but the entire medical landscape of the nation.

Born on 20 June 1928 in Addis Ababa, Professor Asrat’s early life was marked by tragedy that would forge his character. When Italian fascist forces invaded Ethiopia, his father, Ato Woldeyes Altaye, was amongst thousands murdered in the 1937 reprisals following the attempted assassination of General Graziani. His grandfather, Kegnazmatch Tsige Werede, was deported to Italy, leaving young Asrat orphaned at the tender age of nine.

Yet from this crucible of loss emerged a man of extraordinary determination. In 1951, he became the first Ethiopian to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1956 and returning in 1961 to specialise in surgery. Here was a man who could have built a comfortable life in the West, but instead chose to return home to serve his people a decision that would define his entire legacy.

The Edinburgh Years: Forging a Leader

At Edinburgh, Professor Asrat was more than just a brilliant student. He played football for the university, enjoyed the camaraderie of student life, and excelled academically. His Scottish colleagues would later recall his warmth and dedication qualities that would serve him well in both the operating theatre and the political arena.

He distinguished himself as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of both Edinburgh and England, achievements that placed him amongst the medical elite. Yet these accolades never diminished his commitment to Ethiopia. He returned to help create the first medical school in the country as part of Haile Selassie University (now Addis Ababa University) in 1965.

The Physician to an Emperor, The Father of Ethiopian Medicine

Professor Asrat served as personal physician to Emperor Haile Selassie, a role that spoke to his medical prowess and the trust placed in him by the highest echelons of Ethiopian society. Yet his greatest contribution lay not in treating individuals, but in building institutions that would serve generations.

As the first Ethiopian Dean of the Medical Faculty at Addis Ababa University, he established standards that persist today. His creation of the Ethiopian Medical Association provided a professional foundation for the country’s medical practitioners. Even during the dark years of the Derg regime (1974-1991), when political turbulence could have easily driven him to seek safer shores abroad, Professor Asrat remained steadfast in his commitment to healing.

Like a father nurturing his children, he mentored countless medical students who would go on to serve Ethiopia with distinction. His paternal care extended beyond the classroom he was a guide, a protector, and an inspiration to all who knew him.

The Political Awakening: When Healing Became Resistance

The fall of the Derg in 1991 brought new challenges. As a critic of President Meles Zenawi and government policies of regionalisation based on ethnicity, Woldeyes founded the All Amhara People’s Organisation (AAPO) in the same year and became its chairman. This was not the action of a man seeking power, but of a healer who saw his nation’s body politic being wounded by ethnic division.

Unlike many non-committed intellectuals, Asrat Woldeyes was a man of deeds, not a pedant. He had no time for ivory-tower intellectuals who were too timid to protest the wanton killings of innocent children and mothers. Having spent his life saving lives, he could not tolerate the systematic targeting of people based on their ethnic identity.

His fatherly instinct to protect extended to all Ethiopians, regardless of their background. He understood that a nation, like a family, thrives only when its members stand united.

The Price of Principle: Imprisonment and International Recognition

Professor Asrat was jailed by both the Derg and later by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). His imprisonment from 1994 to 1998 drew international attention and condemnation. As an advocate for the poor and underprivileged, he was president of the All-Amhara Peoples Organization, a group that denounced violence as a tool of political change.

The irony was not lost on observers: here was a man who had dedicated his life to healing, imprisoned for advocating unity and peace. His health deteriorated in prison, and by 1998, international pressure finally secured his release. Tragically, he died on 14 May 1999, suffering from a heart ailment.

Even in his darkest hours, confined to a prison cell, his thoughts remained with his people like a father worrying about his children’s welfare from afar.

The Enduring Legacy: A Lion’s Roar That Still Echoes

After his death, The Guardian described him as “successively Ethiopia’s most distinguished surgeon, physician and university dean, most controversial political party leader and best known political prisoner”. Yet this formal obituary barely captures the man’s true impact.

Today, as Ethiopia grapples with ethnic tensions and political upheaval, Professor Asrat’s vision seems prophetic. He urged the Amhara to organise and unify for their defence, warnings that many now view as prescient given subsequent events. His sacrifice in thwarting what he saw as genocide in places like Weter, Arba Gugu, and Bedeno speaks to a man who understood that silence in the face of injustice is complicity.

His legacy affirms that “Ethiopia can only survive as a united, democratic country, and that this prize is worth sacrifice to achieve”. Professor Asrat was always “a man of peace, dignity and intelligent reason”, qualities that shine even brighter in today’s fractured political landscape.

A Father’s Day Tribute: The Eternal Father Figure

As we celebrate Father’s Day, we remember Professor Asrat not only as a biological father but as a father figure to countless Ethiopians. His paternal legacy lives on in multiple dimensions:

To the Medical Profession: He fathered a generation of surgeons and physicians who continue to save lives across Ethiopia. The Addis Ababa University Medical School’s dedication to him as “one of the greatest personalities procured from the womb of Ethiopia” speaks to his enduring influence on medical education.

To Ethiopian Democracy: His unwavering commitment to unity and justice serves as a paternal example for current and future leaders. His voice, though silenced, continues to guide those who seek a more inclusive Ethiopia.

To All Ethiopians: Like a caring father, he sacrificed personal comfort and safety for the wellbeing of his people. His choice to return from Edinburgh’s comfort to Ethiopia’s challenges exemplifies the selfless love of a true father.

Remembrance and Reflection

As we approach what would have been Professor Asrat’s 97th birthday on 20 June, we reflect on a life that embodied the very essence of fatherhood sacrifice, guidance, protection, and unconditional love for one’s children.

His story resonates particularly strongly among Amhara intellectuals and Ethiopians who share his vision of a united nation where ethnicity is a source of diversity, not division. In remembering Professor Asrat Woldeyes, we remember not just what Ethiopia was, but what it could become again united, proud, and free.

The lion of Ethiopia may have drawn his final breath twenty-six years ago, but his roar for unity, justice, and human dignity continues to echo through the highlands and valleys of the land he loved so dearly. On this Father’s Day, we say: “Happy Father’s Day, Professor Asrat. Your children, all of Ethiopia, remember you with love, respect, and eternal gratitude.”

As we prepare to mark his birthday, we celebrate not just the day he was born, but the legacy he left behind. Happy 97th Birthday, dear Professor. Your light continues to shine, guiding Ethiopia towards the unity and prosperity you envisioned.

Professor Asrat Woldeyes (20 June 1928 – 14 May 1999): Surgeon, educator, freedom fighter, and eternal father of the nation. His legacy lives on in every life saved, every mind educated, and every heart that beats for Ethiopian unity.