ABOUT TIME!!: Yohannes Mengesha, Assistant Secretary-General (UN)

By Tecola W. Hagos

The United Nations Department of Public Information issued on 26 April 2006 one of its curt and bland announcements of appointments; only this time, at least for me, the announcement carried something profoundly important because of the fact of the appointment of an Ethiopian to such a high post is an equitable decision that rectified an injustice done to a people long neglected, pushed aside, trampled upon, pissed on et cetera by United Nations officials and the United Nations as a body, especially by the permanent members of the United Nations. Secretary-General Kofi Annan went against a perverse tradition of neglect and oversight of tremendously gifted and capable Ethiopians (professional experts and administrators) who have served the United Nations from its inception to date by appointing the first Ethiopian Assistant Secretary-General, Yohannes Mengesha.

In fact, there are several reasons that I have applauded Kofi Annan for undertaking daring steps in the past; however, in all my comments, I have not mentioned the fact that Kofi Annan is the friendliest Secretary-General ever to Ethiopian public servants at the United Nations. It seems the affection is mutual because I have heard many Ethiopians with the United Nations who appreciate Kofi Annan greatly for the extremely difficult decisions he has been making, leading a very fractured and ungovernable United Nations Secretariat that is the mirror-image of the many and diverse nation-states of the world with all their conflicts and corrupt practices.

Why is it that exiting to me about the appointment of another United Nations� insider bureaucrat that prompted me to write this piece while I have so many important issues and topics to write about still waiting? From the beginning, let me state clearly that I have no clue who �Yohannes Mengesha� is and I am not interested in such details. However, when I heard the news a couple of days ago, in an effort to find out who he is and from what part of Ethiopia he came from, I googled his name and was able to read few items about his work, which was also mentioned in the UN announcement of his appointment. However, I abruptly stopped my search for I realized that it really does not matter to me where he was born, what ethnic group he belongs to, what his political affiliation is et cetera. I do not even give a damn if he is an arada/mehale-sefari. I am just ecstatic that he is an accomplished Ethiopian. I was just very happy that an Ethiopian is being recognized and honored for his outstanding service to the peoples of the World.  That fact alone was the source of my pride, for I felt as if the honor and the hope of the world were personally entrusted to me.

I hope this great recognition of our brother is an uplifting occasion for all of us and all the people of our Continent. In these depressing days of our political and economic situation back in Ethiopia , we need to grasp at every strand of hope-giving event that comes our way.  Only a week ago, I wrote a short comment in connection to our posting of the Nixon-Moynihan tape conversations, expressing my deeply felt disappointment of the lack of leadership in Africa . I even titled my comment deliberately with a provocative title, �African Leaders? An Oxymoron.� One other area of disappointment to me was how the United Nations system systematically undermined and marginalized Ethiopian professionals. There should have been by now an Ethiopian Secretary-General. For that matter, on reflection, a Secretary General for the OAU or as it is currently known the Africa Union (AU), is long overdue as well. Ethiopia was a major player in the creation of the United Nations. Even Egypt the other founding member of the United Nations does not measure up to the role Ethiopia played for world peace and the creation of organizations such as the United Nations to carry out such noble purpose. Ethiopia was the first and only African nation member of the League of Nations for fourteen years joining the League in 1923, when Egypt was admitted to membership in 1937. The League of Nations was the precursor organization of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice. In 1945 Ethiopia was represented by the talented and well educated international law expert Aklilu Habtewoled (Prime Minster) at the formation of the United Nations.  In time, after the 1950s, it is rumored, both Aklilu Habtewold and later Endalkatchew Mekonnen (an equally brilliant diplomat) were favored as possible choices for Secretary-General of the United Nations by the Government of the United States , but were vehemently opposed by France and the Soviet Union .

The Ethiopian leaders were also responsible for such imbalance in the appointment of public servants in international organizations. It is also public knowledge that Emperor Haile Selassie I was insanely jealous of any Ethiopian receiving such international recognition. The rumor was that the reason often given by him was that those talented Ethiopians were much more needed at home (in the Ethiopian Government) than serving in international organizations, which is at best a very cynical excuse.

In this regard, Senegal and other West African Francophone countries had manipulated the United Nations and other international organizations placing their nationals in very senior positions within such organizations. If we go by service and seniority no other African country should be even close to Ethiopia for senior offices in international organizations. The Francophones through their ties with Franc, and the Anglophones through the Commonwealth/England, and the Arabs through the Arab League have manipulated for years the hiring and appointment of their respective citizens in highly placed and highly paid positions within international organizations, such as the United Nations, the World Bank/IMF, the ILO, UNICF, et cetera. Ethiopia despite its founding member status and service both in Korea and the Congo is the left out of such lucrative system, getting now and then firefari (crumbs) from the masters� tables. 

From the short sketch given by the United Nations announcement of the appointment of Yohannes Mengesha, other than the fact of his outstanding academic record graduating from one of the finest Universities in the world, Cambridge University , even more important his work experience tells us a lot more about his integrity and discipline. Yohannes Mengesha is an outstanding Ethiopian. What we have here is a nugget of gold tested with fire, and coming out of that fire of real life examination as pure as they come. I am referring to Yohannes�s service for a couple of years as Director, Iraq Programme, Department of Humanitarian Affairs (1996-1998), where as we learned later a number of older and more experienced officials from the United Nations were implicated in kick-backs, bribery et cetera. I have read several articles and reports by outside investigators as well as that of Paul Volker�s reports, none of which found anything even suspicious with Yohannes Mengesha who was managing the humanitarian side of the program even though the entire project a volatile and corrupting situation of one of the world�s richest region in the world.

Yohannes Mengesha literally was trusted into untested grounds, into the den of wolves, where the political and economic might of powerful interest groups clashed and where such powerful nations with billions of dollars/pounds/yens at their command vied for position of influence and advantages. We must recognize the fact that national governments do not have moral standards; they use anything and everything to achieve their political and economic goals, where they use unscrupulous methods of corruption to get their ways. The individual bureaucrat unless made of fibers of moral steel will easily succumb to the temptation of money and power.

 It is very easy to claim moral superiority in the abstract, when one is not in a position to be tempted in his or her day-to-day responsibilities. I know how taxing it is to be in a position of influence where one is usually targeted by the powerful, the unscrupulous, the corrupt et cetera as possible instrument to be used in order to advance a particular interest. I am glad I am not the person in charge of such office where the temptation is real, the stake very high, and the possibility of corruption almost a certainty.

 I was once interviewed in 1980 by the United Nations Legal Counsel, an Englishman with impeccable manners and courtesy. And later when I had my own little law office, I was interviewed for an appointment at the World Bank/IMF, by an American legal Counsel, who was a much older gentleman and retiring. I interviewed with him twice. In either instance, I was not invited to join either establishment. On reflection over the years, I came to the conclusion, after having blamed everybody including �fate,� that there was some conspiracy against me. In fact, I failed because of my own shortcomings not due to some conspiracy or anything else. What cannot be denied was the fact that I interviewed with the top people in each international organization, for the next person higher up would have been either the Secretary General or the President of the respective organizations. It is very unusual for someone just walking in from the street in cold-blood to be given such opportunity on the strength of a letter and a resume. With age, over twenty five years later, I have pretty much reconciled with my mediocrity and can appreciate, without blinders of my self-interest, why those very well experienced and highly placed professionals did not find in my person what they imagined from my resume. If I gave that interview myself, I would not have hired me then. Who wants to hire an anxious, over ambitious, brash, irreverent, hungry et cetera man for a position that would set standards of excellence of trust and loyalty?

I have heard from good friends, who are very disappointed in what I feel and say now, that it was bad in the past when I saw conspiracy lurking in every shadow nearby explaining my unsuccessful effort to get an important appointment with an international organization. Now the same friends are telling me that my incessant acclamation of young Ethiopians, who have been successfully distinguishing themselves in some of the finest universities in the world, such as Harvard, Stanford, Oxford et cetera is my living vicariously through the successful lives of such people, people I do not even know except the fact that they are Ethiopians, is even worse. They ask me, when I am going to live my own life. I am gong to great length to share my views about my great enthusiasm, satisfaction, and happiness about the great success of one of us that I include a very personal sentiment and a confessional. If there are skeptics, I want to convince you that the success of an Ethiopian anywhere in any area of honorable human endeavor is a success for each one of us Ethiopians everywhere, vicariously or otherwise.   

I think the United Nations has been well served by Yohannes Mengesha in all of his undertakings starting from the day he joined the Organization as junior Officer responsible as Project Officer, for World Food Programme (WFP), Eastern Caribbean Office, Trinidad and Tobago (1976-1980), to date with his new important appointment as Assistant Secretary-General. There is much expected from those much responsibility is given. I do hope Yohannes Mengesha will carry his duties with grace and magnanimity and be a beacon of hope and pride for young Ethiopians.

Tecola W. Hagos

Wahington DC , April 30, 2006

Full Text: United Nations Department of Public Information [SG/A/997, BIO/3756]

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced today the appointment of Yohannes Mengesha of Ethiopia as Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, in succession to Angela Kane.

Mr. Mengesha currently serves as Director of the Office of the Deputy Secretary-General.  He previously served as Principal Officer in the same Office (1998-2005).  Earlier in his career, Mr. Mengesha held the position of Director, Iraq Programme, Department of Humanitarian Affairs (1996-1998).

Mr. Mengesha joined the United Nations in 1976 as Project Officer, World Food Programme (WFP) Eastern Caribbean Office, Trinidad and Tobago (1976-1980).  Since then, he has served the Organization in various capacities, including as Regional Manager, WFP Eastern and Southern Africa Bureau (1994-1996); and Senior Adviser, Department of Humanitarian Affairs (1992-1994).  He also held various posts in WFP�s East and Southern Africa Bureau (1980-1992). 

Mr. Mengesha holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Master of Arts in Law from Cambridge University , United Kingdom .  He was born on 27 July 1951.