Getachew Abate

{{short description|Ethiopian army commander (1895–1952)}}

{{more citations needed|date=February 2020}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Getachew Abate

| birth_date = 1895

| death_date = 1952

| occupation = Army commander, nobleman

| education = Menelik School (École Impériale Menelik II)

| office1 = Minister to France

| term_start1 = 1929

| term_end1 = 1930

| office2 = Minister of the Interior

| term_start2 = 1931

| term_end2 = 1933

| office3 = Ethiopian representative to the League of Nations

| term_start3 = 1928

| term_end3 = 1929

| allegiance = Ethiopian Empire

| branch = Ethiopian Army

| rank = Ras

| commands = Army of Kaffa

| battles = Second Italo-Ethiopian War

}}

Getachew Abate (1895–1952) was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire.Haile Selassie, p. 10

Getachew Abate was the son of Lique Mekwas{{#tag:ref|Roughly equivalent to the Emperor's Second.|group=nb}} Abate Ba-Yalew. He had a church education followed by language training at the Menelik School (Ecole Imperiale Menelik II).Haile Selassie, p. 10 Getachew Abate grew up in the palace of Emperor Menelik II along with Menelik's grandson, Lij Iyasu.Haile Selassie I, Volume I, p. 27

In 1919, Dejazmach{{#tag:ref|Equivalent to Commander of the Gate.|group=nb}} Getachew Abate was sent to Italy to congratulate King Victor Emmanuel on an Allied victory.Haile Selassie, Volume I, p. 60Haile Selassie, Volume II, p. 10 In 1921, he was part of the force sent to capture the deposed Lij Iyasu.Haile Selassie, Volume I, p. 61 In 1925, Getachew Abate represented Ethiopia at the Geneva arms conference.Haile Selassie, Volume II, p. 10

In 1926, Getachew Abate was named Shum{{#tag:ref|Roughly equivalent to Governor.|group=nb}} of Kaffa, Goldiya, Maji, and Gera with the title of Bitwoded.{{#tag:ref|Roughly equivalent to Beloved.|group=nb}} In 1928, he was named Ethiopia's representative to the League of Nations. In 1929, Getachew Abate was appointed as Minister to France.Haile Selassie, Volume II, p. 10

In 1930, Getachew Abate returned to Ethiopia and, in 1931, he became the Minister of the Interior. In May 1933, Getachew Abate was elevated to Ras.{{#tag:ref|Roughly equivalent to Duke.|group=nb}}Haile Selassie, Volume II, p. 10

In 1935, at the time of the Italian invasion, as the Shum of Kaffa Province, Ras Getachew AbateMockler, Haile Sellassie's War, p. 391 commanded the Army of Kaffa.Nicolle, The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia 1935-1936, p. 4 On 31 March 1936, Ras Getachew Abate and the Army of Kaffa was with Emperor Haile Selassie at the Battle of Maychew. When the Kebur Zabagna (the Ethiopian imperial guard) was sent against the Italians at Maychew, Getachew Abate commanded them. As the Battle of Maychew came to an end, Getachew Abate was named by the Emperor as Asmach.{{#tag:ref|Equivalent to Commander of the Rear Guard.|group=nb}} In command of the rear guard, he withdrew with the Emperor from Maychew to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

As the Italians closed in on Addis Ababa, he went into exile with Haile Selassie. Getachew Abate departed from the royal party as it traveled through the British Mandate of Palestine. Getachew Abate then spent some time in Jerusalem. But ultimately he returned to occupied Ethiopia and submitted to the Italians.

In 1941, after the Italians were driven out of Ethiopia, Ras Getachew Abate was arrested by the liberators. In an act of clemency it was reported that Haile Selassie told him "I pardon you, but I don't know if God will."{{cite book |last1=Perham |first1=Margery |title=The Government of Ethiopia |date=1948 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |page=84}}{{cite book |last1=Greenfield |first1=Richard |title=Ethiopia: A New Political History |date=1965 |publisher=Frederick A. Praeger Inc. Publishers |location=New York |page=260}}Mockler, Haile Sellassie's War, p. 391 Afterwards, Getachew Abate was exiled to remote parts of the Empire, Jimma and Arsi.Haile Selassie, Volume II, p. 10 He is said to have died of alcohol poisoning.