[1] Gebru was born in Mekelle, Ethiopia and attended Atse Yohannes High School and Haile Selassie I University during the early 1970s.
[citation needed] After the TPLF defeated the Derg in the Ethiopian Civil War, Gebru became President of Tigray Region.
[citation needed] In May 1998, Eritrea started a border war which led to the death of tens of thousands of people on both sides.
One group, which included Gebru, Tewolde Wolde Mariam, Aregash, and Siye Abraha, believed that the leadership was bent on serving foreign "imperialist" interests.
[1] Gebru became its chairman in 2007; Arena Tigray merged with other opposition parties in Ethiopia to form Medrek.