Adwa Victory Day

The Battle of Adwa was fought on March 1, 1896, after the dispute over the Italian and Amharic texts of the 1889 Treaty of Wuchale and Italy’s attempt to impose a protectorate. Forces assembled under Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul, with commanders and supporters from many regions, defeated the invading Italian army. The victory helped preserve Ethiopian sovereignty and became a powerful reference for African and Black anti-colonial movements.

Adwa’s memory is national and international, but it should not be simplified into a claim that Ethiopia thereafter escaped every form of colonial violence. Fascist Italy occupied much of the country from 1936 to 1941, and Eritrea had a separate history under Italian colonial rule. The 2024 proclamation calls Adwa Ethiopia’s national day and assigns the Ministry of Defence to coordinate programmes intended to transmit the history of the victory.

Adwa Victory Day is a celebrated national public holiday under Article 4 of Proclamation No. 1334/2024. Governmental and non-governmental institutions close and salaried employees’ pay may not be reduced, while utilities, health care, security, public transport, fuel services, museums and parks must remain available and other listed businesses may open. Labour Proclamation No. 1156/2019 gives covered workers twice the hourly wage for holiday work and only one holiday payment when a holiday coincides with another holiday or a legal rest day; neither law creates an automatic substitute Monday.