Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dies at 57

	Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dies at 57 Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's repressive prime minister, who lifted his country from the ruins of civil war and transformed it into one of Africa's fastest-growing economies and one of the United States government's closest African allies, died on Monday, state television reported. He was 57. The Ethiopian authorities said he had died just before midnight in a hospital "abroad" — a European Commission spokesman told reporters that it was in Brussels — after getting a secondary infection. His failing health had been a matter of secrecy for months. A former rebel leader who had dropped out of medical school in the 1970s to fight Ethiopia's former Communist government, Mr. Meles was lauded for his shrewdness and intelligence. He was known to be a voracious reader, able to digest mountains of statistics rapidly and quote Shakespeare at length. He worked closely with Washington to combat Muslim extremism in the Horn of Africa, though there were growing complaints, even among his backers, about his penchant for violence in quashing dissent. In the 1990s, Mr. Meles was widely hailed as a pivotal member of the "new generation" of African leaders who had overthrown dictators and would usher in democracy. But while he was praised for his development efforts, he was accused of concentrating power after becoming prime minister in 1995, boxing out rivals and creating a fearful atmosphere in which criticism was not tolerated and journalists and opposition politicians were jailed <b>...</b>	From: NewsLlVE Views: 0 0 ratings
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