Patriots’ Victory Day

Patriots’ Victory Day marks May 5, 1941, when Emperor Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa during the East African campaign against Fascist Italy. The event followed years of armed and civilian resistance by arbegnoch, support networks and communities across occupied Ethiopia, alongside British, Commonwealth and allied African forces. It restored the capital, but fighting continued until the surrender of the last major Italian position at Gondar in November 1941.

The commemoration honours resistance and sovereignty while requiring care about whose experiences are remembered. Civilians endured executions, forced displacement, racial rule and chemical warfare, and resistance included people with different regional, political and social positions. The proclamation assigns the Ministry of Culture and Sport to coordinate with the Ethiopian Patriots Association rather than presenting May 5 only as an imperial homecoming.

Patriots’ 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.