Tafari Benti [SEP] place of birth
Tafari Benti
Brigadier General Tafari Benti (; October 1921 – 3 February 1977) was the Head of State of Ethiopia (28 November 1974 – 3 February 1977), and chairman of the Derg, the ruling junta. His official title was Chairman of the Provisional Military Administrative Council.
Early life and career.
Tafari Benti was born near Addis Ababa. He joined the Ethiopian army at the age of 20, graduated from the Holetta Military Academy, and served in the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions. In 1967
to round up Tafari Benti and other Derg members suspected of conspiring with the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP). During a routine meeting on 3 February 1977, Tafari Benti and the other Derg members suspected of conspiring with the EPRP were arrested by soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Daniel. According to the memoirs of Fikre Selassie Wogderess, they were then led into a dark garage located in the compound and locked up. Fikre Selassie was also present at the meeting and was mistakenly arrested along with Tafari and the other