Hasib Ydlibi
Hasib Ydlibi (born 1866) was a British rubber merchant and politician in Ethiopia during the early twentieth century.[1]
Biography
Ydlibi was born in Manchester, United Kingdom, to a Syrian father and Circassian mother.[1][2]
In 1897 he was employed as an interpreter in the service of the British Expeditionary Force in Sudan.[1] After leaving the Force he began trading gum in Kordofan. In 1905 he visited Ethiopia as a representative of the Kordofan Trading Company. During his trip he discovered rubber trees in the south of the country and was granted monopoly rights for the trading of gum by Emperor Menelik II.[1]
Ydlibi soon became a favoured confidante of Lij Iyasu, and played a prominent role in helping Lij Iyasu implement administrative reforms in the country.[3] He was appointed governor of Gambella and Negadras of Dire Dawa and Harar. He was given free reign to reform both cities and charged with making Dire Dawa a model for all of Ethiopia.[4] In particular Lij Iyasu hoped to use Ydlibi's skills to introduce a system of government similar to that which the British adopted in Cyprus, and where Ydlibi at earlier worked.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d Aethiopica: International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. Germany, Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008.
- ^ Metaferia, Getachew. Ethiopia and the United States: History, Diplomacy, and Analysis. United States, Algora Pub., 2009.
- ^ a b The Life and Times of Lïj Iyasu of Ethiopia: New Insights. Austria, Lit Verlag, 2014.
- ^ Zewde, Bahru. Pioneers of Change in Ethiopia: The Reformist Intellectuals of the Early Twentieth Century. Greece, J. Currey, 2002.
