Woldeab Woldemariam

As a journalist and activist in the 1940s and '50s, Woldeab Woldemariam is acclaimed by Eritreans as the father of their national movement. Surviving numerous assassination attempts, he not only fashioned Eritreans' agenda for liberation but also became the finest writer of Tigrinya, the country's leading language. Woldeab's persistent and principled appeals to the Eritrean leadership for unity, tolerance and democracy enhanced his popular standing but led to his unjust neglect by the national authorities. Dawit Mesfin's biography at last extends Woldeab the recognition he has long deserved.