Constitutional Background

History and News

• Sep 2000: The National Assembly announces parliamentary elections for the end of 2001 following the provisions of the constitution.
• 18 June 2000: Agreement with Ethiopia on the cessation of hostilities, after Ethiopia has occupied Southwest-Eritrea including several small cities; the UN troops which were supposed to arrive immediately afterwards on Eritrean soil has not arrived yet (information status: Oct 2000).
• January 2000: Diplomatic conflict with Sudan is ended.
• Automn 1999: Arbitration Tribunal about Hanish archipelago assigns main islands to Jemen and smaller ones to Eritrea (cf. 1995 note below).
• Feb 1999: Eritrea loses the Badme territory, claimed by both 
• 1998: A border conflict with Ethiopia develops into a full scale war, considered by the UNHCR in 1999 as this year´s bloodiest conflict.
• Nov 1997: Introduction of an own currency, the Nakfa, in exchange with the Ethiopian Birr.
• 23 May 1997: New Constitution is adopted, but has not been implimented since (information status: Oct 2000).
• May 1996: Treaty on peaceful settlement of Yemen conflict by international arbitration. 
• Dec 1995: Armed conflict with Yemen during three days, both sides claiming the Hanish archipelago in the Bab-el-Mandeb (Eritreans occupying Hanish-al-Kabir, Yemenis occupying Hanish-al-Seqir), mediated by France. 
• Dec 1994: Breaking off diplomatic relations to Sudan, allegedly responsible for attacks by armed islamist groups in Southwestern Eritrea. 
• 24 May 1993: Independance, first recognitions by Egypt, USA, Italy and Sudan (27 April 1993 already). 
• 19 May 1993: By proclamation, a four year transition period is established to draft a democratic constitution; the Provisional Government (PGE, by EPLF-led guerilla) takes a mandate for this period. 
• 23-25 April 1993: Confirmation of independence by 99.8% in an OAU-UNO-monitored referendum. 
• 21 March 1993: Issayas Afeworki is elected as President by the National Assembly. 
• 24 May 1991: De facto independence after the capitulation of
• 1978: The Eritrean liberation fronts lose against a Soviet-sponsored attack of the Ethiopian central government and establish their administration in the North around the city of Nakfa.
• 1977: Eritrea is virtually independant for a short period of time; more than 90% of its territory is occupied by Eritrean liberation fronts, only the capital Asmara and the harbor Massawa are controled by the central government.
• 1962: Annexion by Ethiopia.
• 1 Sep 1961: Start of the militant independence struggle. National holiday.
• 1952: Eritrea becomes an autonomous entity within a federation with Ethiopia (Eritrea with a democratically elected government and an own constitution, Ethiopia under feudalist rule, both being theoretically equal before the federal government).
• 1947: Establishment of a four-power-mandate, Italy giving up its sovereignty.
• 1941: Occupation by Great Britain. 
• 1936: Emperor Haile Selassie I. of Abyssinia exiled to Great Britain. Eritrea unified with Ethiopia and Italian Somalia and
• 1935: Italy attacks Abyssinia via Eritrea.
• 1897: Asmara becomes the capital. 
• 1896: Eritrea attacks Abyssinia but is defeated at Adua.
• 1890: Foundation of "Eritrea" as an Italian colony. 
• 1885: Italy takes over the so-called 'Ottoman "Habesh"' from Egyptian rule; Massawa Port becomes the capital. 
• 1881: Italians create the "Colonia di Asseb".
• 1846: The Egyptians under Mehmet Ali take over the Eritrean coast (the Ottoman province "Habesh"), and later very much enlargen it by annexing adjacent de-facto independant regions such as Bogos and Danakil.