Berhane Abrehe

Berhane Abrehe (Tigrinya: በርሃነ አብረሀ) is an Eritrean top government official who, served as the country's Minister of Finance of Eritrea from 2001 to 2014.[1][2]

Berhane Abrehe
3rd Minister of Finance of Eritrea
In office 2001–2014
Preceded by	Ghebreselassie Yoseph
Succeeded by	Berhane Habtemariam
Personal details
Born	1945 Eritrea
Political party	EPLF
Alma mater	University of Illinois
Profession	Civil Engineer and Economist

He was born in 1945.[3] In 1972, Berhane Abrehe graduated with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has held the post of Director of Macro-Economic policy in the office of the President of Eritrea, subsequently advancing to his Cabinet position and becoming the third Minister of Finance in the 14 years since Eritrea's proclamation of independence in May 1993. His status was described as unclear in a 2007 leaked US cable.[4]

In September 2018 Berhane Abrehe published a controversial book: ”Eritrea Hagerey [Eritrea My Country].[5] A quote on the cover of one of the books reads, “...in a renewed courage, [Berhane Abrehe] has presented a plan, in a civilized Eritrean manner, on how to end dictatorship [in Eritrea] and how to prevent it from reappearing again”.

After the publishing of his book, Berhane Abrehe was subsequently arrested. His whereabouts are unknown, and concerns for his well being has been high in the Eritrean opposition, as he is a 77 year old who is in poor health and underwent a liver transplant not long before his detainment. His son, Efrem Berhane Abrehe, is an Eritrean activist working hard to fight for his fathers freedom. Videos of him talking about his father can be found on Eritrean opposition YouTube channel, Erisat.