Public Administration Developments in Ethiopia Under Three Different Regimes

This paper aims to summarise and analyse the development of the public administration system in Ethiopia under three different regimes: those of Emperor Haile Selassie, the Derg, and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Public service and public administration in modern terms date back only to the 20th century in Ethiopia. Initially, the government was unitary and centralised; later, the EPRDF introduced a federal state structure. These structural changes brought the nationality question to the forefront. The different government and administrative systems are characterized by weak and strong political, economic, and social achievements. Among these is a lack of good governance, human rights violations, weak institutional capacities, a low level of citizen participation, and an (in)appropriate public administration system. Therefore, to mitigate these problems, institutional reforms, effective and efficient use of modern technologies, and inter-institutional cooperation play essential roles in improving the public administration system.