Constitution of Ethiopia, 1995
The supreme law of Ethiopia, as published by Ministry of Justice. Published in Amharic and English.
At a glance
- Adopted
- 1995
- Languages
- Amharic, English
- Chapters
- 11
- Articles
- 106
- Presidential term
- 6 years · Art. 70(4)
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The term of office of the President shall be six years. No person shall be elected President for more than two terms.
- Presidential term limit
- Two terms · Art. 70(4)
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No person shall be elected President for more than two terms.
- Amendment procedure
- Two-thirds of both houses plus two-thirds of the state councils · Art. 105(2)
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approve a proposed amendment by a two-thirds majority vote; and (b) When two-thirds of the Councils of the member States of the Federation approve the proposed amendment
- Head of state
- President (largely ceremonial) · Art. 69
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The President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia [...] is the Head of State.
- Prime minister
- Yes, Prime Minister is Chief Executive and head of government · Art. 74(1)
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The Prime Minister is the Chief Executive, the Chairman [...] Council of Ministers, and the Commander-in-Chief [...] of the national armed forces.
Federal Negarit Gazeta Year 1 No. 1, Addis Ababa, 21 August 1995, Proclamation No. 1/1995 (constitution ratified 8 December 1994). Embassy of Ethiopia (Belgium) copy; the Ministry of Justice URL timed out (TLS). Bilingual PDF: Amharic text is authoritative (Art. 106); English column quoted. Text layer contains Amharic noise, shown with [...].
Constitution of Ethiopia: common questions
When was the constitution of Ethiopia adopted?
The current constitution of Ethiopia dates from 1995.
Where can I download the constitution of Ethiopia?
Ministry of Justice publishes the text on its official site, and this page links to it.
How long is a presidential term in Ethiopia?
6 years (Article 70(4)).
How is the constitution of Ethiopia amended?
Two-thirds of both houses plus two-thirds of the state councils (Article 105(2)).
We link to the official site and do not host a copy of the text.
Source: Ministry of Justice, retrieved 10 Oct 2026. See our methods.