Alemayehu Atomsa
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12 February 1969
Alemayehu Atomsa Alamaayyoo Atomsaa ዓለማየሁ አቶምሳ | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of Oromia Region | |
| In office 6 September 2010 – 18 February 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Abadula Gemeda |
| Succeeded by | Muktar Kedir |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alamaayyoo Atomsaa 12 February 1969 |
| Died | 6 March 2014 (aged 45) Bangkok, Thailand |
| Party | Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front |
| Other political affiliations | Oromo People's Democratic Organization |
| Alma mater | Ethiopian Civil Service University (LL.B.) Peking University (M.P.P.) |
Alemayehu Atomsa (Oromo: Alamaayyoo Atoomsaa; Amharic: አለማየው አቶምሳ; 12 February 1969 – 6 March 2014) was an Ethiopian politician who served as the president of the Oromia Region, the largest of the country's regions, from 2010 until his resignation due to illness in 2014,[1] from which he died in Bangkok, Thailand, on 6 March 2014.[2]
Alemayehu was born on 12 February 1969 in the village of Sere in Welega Province, now in Bonaya Boshe District in the Misraq Welega Zone of the Oromia Region.[2] Alemayehu attended school close to his home district at Gubo Leyo Primary School and Siri Secondary School.[3] During the Ethiopian Civil War, he was conscripted by the government to fight against EPLF and TPLF rebels. He, however, was captured by TPLF rebels. Soon after, his captors gave him the option of continuing to be their POW or becoming a founding member of the Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO); he chose the latter.[citation needed]
He received a law degree from the Ethiopian Civil Service University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Peking University in Beijing, China.[2]
Alemayehu started his career as a teacher. He rose to become the Director of the Information Agency of the Oromia Region, and then managing director of the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency.[4]
Alemayehu joined the armed struggle against the military junta of President Mengistu Hailemariam in 1989. He had been part of the leadership of OPDO and EPRDF since the ousting of the military junta in 1991; among others, as head of Oromia's eastern Wolega zone and head of Oromia's western Wolega zone. Alemayehu served as Oromia's chief of security, as head of OPDO's political department and as head of OPDO's headquarters from 1996 to 2002. He was head of Oromia's Communications Bureau, then Director General of Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency from 2006 to 2010. In 2012, Alemayehu became Chairperson of OPDO and President of Oromia region.[3]
He was the father of two daughters and two sons.[4]