The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር ye’ītiyop’iya ḥizibochi ābiyotawī dīmokirasīyawī ginibari) is a left-wing ethnic federalist^[2] political coalition in Ethiopia. The EPRDF consists of four political parties, namely Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM).^[2]

During the Ethiopian Civil War, the EPRDF was a rebel group battling the Derg, a military regime led by Mengistu Haile Mariam that was effectively in power from 1974 until it was replaced by the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1987. During this period, the Derg was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of opponents without trial in the Qey Shibir and the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia resulting in 400,000 deaths.^[3]

The EPRDF was formed by the union of the TPLF and the Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (EPDM) in early-1989. They were later joined by the OPDO (the Oromo members of the TPLF, EPLF, and EPDM) and the Ethiopian Democratic Officers' Revolutionary Movement (a small body of Derg officers captured by TPLF, most notably at Shire in February 1989, which was later disbanded after the establishment of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia).^[2]

Following the collapse of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in the early 1990s, the EPRDF gained support from the United States. Michael Johns, an Africa expert with The Heritage Foundation, wrote in 1991 that "there are some modestly encouraging signs that the front intends to abandon Mengistu's autocratic practices".^[4]

The EPRDF is an alliance of four political parties:

The EPRDF is led by a Council as well as an Executive Committee, whose members are selected every three years by a congress of the party. The four member parties have the same organizational structure. Government and party structures are closely intertwined.^[5]

The other five regions of Ethiopia are governed by parties which were either created or heavily influenced by the EPRDF.^[6] One of the earliest was the Afar People's Democratic Organization in the Afar Region, which subsequently merged with other Afar political groups to create the Afar National Democratic Party (ANDP).^[7] These are the five regional parties:^[8]

The EPRDF has not espoused a well-defined unified ideology or political philosophy. Its members hold a variety of positions that could be broadly defined as being to the left of the opposition parties.^[2] The EPRDF traditionally identified itself with a number of general goals, namely rapid export-based economic growth; close cooperation with the United States in foreign and defense policies; and several newer issues, such as administrative reform. Administrative reform encompassed several themes, namely simplification and streamlining of government bureaucracy; privatization of state-owned enterprises; and adoption of measures, including tax reform, in preparation for the expected strain on the economy posed by a rapidly growing population.^[9] Other priorities in the early 1990s included the promotion of a more active and positive role for Ethiopia following the collapse of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the internationalization of Ethiopia's economy by the liberalization and promotion of domestic demand (expected to lead to the industrialization) and the promotion of education.^[9] A business-inspired commitment to free enterprise was tempered by the insistence of protectionism and tariffs.