AMECO AFRICA<\/p>\n
Addis Ababa, 02 November ,2026.\u2014When the Prime Minister joins officials in military drills, is it a show of leadership or a militarization of government? One of Ethiopia’s leading scholars has made his case.<\/strong><\/p>\n Political science and law scholar Professor Alemayehu Gebremariam has written an extensive article on the leadership training for Medemer Government officials held at the Hurso Military Training Center. He argues that the values military institutions offer to civil administration are vital to achieving national prosperity.<\/p>\n The professor opens by noting that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has a life and leadership closely tied to military service and discipline.<\/p>\n He explains that the Prime Minister began his military life at age 14 as a freedom fighter and joined the national defense force at 17. He then went on to found the Information Network Security Administration (INSA) and was honorably discharged from military service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The professor also recounts his subsequent service as Minister of Science and Technology and as a member of parliament, before becoming Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 2018.<\/p>\n According to Professor Alemayehu, this personal history is consistent with the “Citizen-Soldier” (guardian) concept that the ancient Greek philosopher Plato set out in The Republic and The Laws. Plato holds that those capable of governing and safeguarding a nation are leaders who combine physical fitness with moral and philosophical knowledge and who stand for the common good of the people. Answering the critics<\/strong><\/p>\n As Professor Alemayehu describes it, some critics raise the concern that the Hurso training is “an approach that militarizes civil administration and only strengthens political loyalty.” He says the answer is clear: because civil administration is demanding and carries heavy responsibility, a leader who cannot withstand the challenge should step aside.<\/p>\n Lessons from abroad<\/strong><\/p>\n International experience, the professor says, shows that leadership skills drawn from military science contribute significantly to the success of civil institutions. He cites former U.S. Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis, who, in his book Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead, explains that military leadership principles are vital to the effectiveness of civil institutions. These are leading by example, continuous learning, sound decision-making and building a capable team.<\/p>\n From vision to results<\/strong><\/p>\n Professor Alemayehu notes that, although the Medemer Government has clear and ambitious national visions, it has faced challenges at various levels, including limited implementation capacity, bureaucratic hurdles and a lack of coordinated working systems. Leading by example<\/strong><\/p>\n The professor says the Prime Minister’s front-line presence at Hurso, taking part in military exercises alongside the officials, is a mark of great leadership. “Leading by example,” he explains, means personally demonstrating in practice the standards and discipline one sets for others. This shows, he said, that the Prime Minister is not merely a giver of directives but someone who toils and strives together with those he leads.<\/p>\n Recalling the remark of the renowned military commander General Douglas MacArthur that a general is good or bad only to the extent of the capability of the soldiers under him, the professor explained that the success of the Prime Minister and of Ethiopia will be measured by the implementation capacity and loyalty of the leadership under him.<\/p>\n He also urged officials to apply the discipline, teamwork and sense of national duty gained at Hurso to deliver tangible results that ease people’s daily lives, speed up service delivery and safeguard national security.<\/p>\n The professor concluded that the effectiveness of the Hurso training will be measured by the major national achievements recorded in the coming years and by the realization of the national vision of “making Ethiopia great again.”<\/p>\n In the professor’s view, the real test of Hurso will not be what leaders endured on the training ground, but what they deliver to the people in the years ahead.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AMECO AFRICA Addis Ababa, 02 November ,2026.\u2014When the Prime Minister joins officials in military drills, is it a show of leadership or a militarization of government? One of Ethiopia’s leading scholars has made his case. Political science and law scholar Professor Alemayehu Gebremariam has written an extensive article on the leadership training for Medemer Government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[85,1238],"class_list":["post-3451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-magazines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3451"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3456,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3451\/revisions\/3456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3451"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPrime Minister Abiy has stated that the purpose of the training at Hurso is “to build leadership that is physically developed, morally strong, sharpened in knowledge and mature in wisdom.” He also pointed out that the values military institutions offer to civil administration, namely discipline, patriotism, teamwork, steadfastness of purpose and accountability, are vital to achieving national prosperity and Ethiopia’s civilizational renewal.<\/p>\n
\nCivil leaders, he points out, are judged not by the vision they articulate but by their ability to turn that vision into tangible results. He therefore believes the Hurso training will strengthen leaders’ capacity to make sound decisions under intense pressure, to devise solutions to problems and to improve institutional performance.<\/p>\n