Alfred Heinrich Ilg (30 March 1854 – 7 January 1916) was a Swiss engineer and First Minister of State to Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II.

[2] Menelik II was inspired in hiring Alfred Ilg by the technical development Sudan made with help of the Swiss General Governor Werner Munzinger.

[3] But he was also entrusted diplomatic missions to Europe and once he also managed to get hold of a factory for ammunition production, which in the respect made Menelik independent from the colonial powers.

[3] Ilg advised to prepare for war, when he learned Italy was planning an expedition into Ethiopia, attempting to force it to accept the Italian protectorate.

[4] Menelik II rewarded Ilg with the title counselor in the range of an excellency in 1897 and, furthermore, named him minister of foreign affairs for the years 1897 to 1907.

[5] Ilg was leading in the construction of several public buildings and worked as chef de protcolle and secretary for the emperor, receiving the highest medal available, the Star of Ethiopia.

When Friedrich Rosen, an orientalist and leader of an official German delegation established several treaties between Ethiopia and Germany on 7 March 1905, Ilg's influence at court began to dwindle.