Death and state funeral of Meles Zenawi
State funeral procession in Addis Ababa | |
| Date | 20 August 2012 (death) 2 September 2012 (state funeral) |
|---|---|
| Location | Brussels, Belgium (death) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (state funeral) |
| Coordinates | 9°01′51″N 38°46′00″E / 9.030799°N 38.766562°E |
Meles Zenawi, who led Ethiopia as Prime Minister since 1995, and served as chairman of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since 1988, died in office on 20 August 2012. He had not appeared in public for a month prior to his death. It was speculated that he was in poor health and he was expected to recover before Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year on 11 September 2012.
His state funeral took place on 2 September with high-profile political figures from around the world, including 20 African leaders and senior US officials such as US Ambassador Susan Rice attending.