The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; Tigrinya: ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, romanized: Həzbawi Wäyyanä Ḥarənnät Təgray, lit.

'Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray'), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist,[2][19][20][5] paramilitary group,[21] and the former ruling party of Ethiopia.

The new ruling EPRDF government, was dominated by the TPLF,[30][31] who gradually consolidated control over Ethiopia's federal administrations, the ENDF, and key economic resources such as foreign aid, loans, and land leases, amassing billions.

[25] On 2 November 2022, the African Union brokered a deal in Pretoria, South Africa, between the federal government and the TPLF to end the Tigray War.

The founders were: Alemseged Mengesha (nom de guerre: Haylu), Ammaha Tsehay (Abbay), Aregawi Berhe (Berhu), Embay Mesfin (Seyoum), Fentahun Zere'atsion (Gidey), Mulugeta Hagos (Asfeha), and Zeru Gesese (Agazi).

[47] On the night of 18 February 1975, eleven men, including Gesese Ayyele (Sehul), Gidey, Asfeha, Seyoum, Agazi, and Berhu, left Enda Selassie for Sehul's home area of Dedebit, where they founded the TPLF (original name Tigrinya: ተጋድሎ ሓርነት ሕዝቢ ትግራይ, Tägadlo Ḥarənnät Ḥəzbi Təgray, "The Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray").

Welde Selassie Nega (Sebhat), Legese Zenawi (Meles), and others soon joined the original group, and, after the arrival of the trainees from Eritrea in June 1975, the TPLF had about 50 fighters.

In contrast to the Eritrean and Somali liberation movements, the TPLF sought not independence, but the overthrow of the central government to establish its own revolutionary framework for Ethiopia.

[49] After the Derg's victory in the Ogaden War in February 1978 and Mengistu Haile Mariam's new support from the Soviets permitted the substantial growth of his forces, the TPLF's momentum seemed to slow.

[50] During the TPLFs early years, the Derg was primarily focused on the Eritrean and Somali insurgencies, allowing it to avoid the full force of the Ethiopian military as its numbers grew to 20,000 strong.

The increasingly alienating intervention of the Derg, the front's handling of famine and refugee problems, and the foreign connections it built through its mission in Khartoum, enabled the movement to mobilize and better equip more fighters to prepare for the shift from guerrilla to frontal attack.

[54] The Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (EPDM), a TPLF-loyal splinter group from the EPRP, used caves in Melfa (Dogu'a Tembien).

The evolving situation in both Eritrea and Tigray, as well as the changing international context after the breakup of the Soviet bloc, prompted the TPLF and EPLF to put aside their differences and resume military cooperation.

[33] Under the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the nation was governed by TPLF leader Meles Zenawi who became the first prime minister.

[30] Gradually the TPLF hegemony within the EPRDF grew stronger as the party dominated Ethiopia's federal administrations and the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) officer corps.

The party exercised, "near-exclusive control over foreign aid, international loans, and the leasing of public land to amass billions of dollars.

"[32] With the EPRDF effectively under TPLF control, the Tigrayan position in Ethiopian governance post-1991 mirrored the political dominance that the Amharas had held in the country during most of the 20th century.

Following Zenawi's death in 2012, the organization quickly splintered into factions of Meles loyalists, young technocrats in Addis and party officials in Mekelle.

Amhara and Oromo elites came to an agreement to reform the TPLF created system, resulting in the accession of Abiy Ahmed to Prime Minister of Ethiopia in the following years.

[33] Internal power struggles within the EPRDF and its inability to quell popular protests resulted in a major political transition and Abiy Ahmed's election in 2018.

[65] PM Abiy stated that the federal government would not recognize the results of the Tigray election and banned foreign journalists from traveling to the region document it.

[69][70] The TPLF has accused the ENDF and Eritrean forces of war crimes, but it is difficult to independently verify these allegations because of the media blackout imposed by the federal government under Abiy.

[78][79] After the Tigray War significantly reshaped the region's political landscape, the TPLF faced deepening divisions following the signing of the Pretoria Agreement.

On 12 August, chairman Debretsion declared that NEBE's decision undermined the TPLF's 50-year legacy and violated the Pretoria deal which had ended the Tigray War during November 2022.

[86] As the six day long meeting commenced on 13 August,[85] an Ethiopian government minister accused the TPLF of "practically nullifying" the Pretoria agreement and threatening the peace.

[41] In the period following, Debretsion's faction removed Getachew and several other officials from their roles in the administration, claiming they "no longer have the authority to lead, make decisions, or issue directives."

"[2] The TPLF castigated the formation of the centralized empire state during the conquests of Menelik II as, "the beginning of national oppression" in the groups manifesto.

Core Marxist aspects embraced by the TPLF included vanguardism, democratic centralism, dictatorship of the proletariat, and also self-determination in the name of national liberation.

The party was also heavily influence by the Albanian communist model of Enver Hoxha, stressing self-reliant economy and every nation having its unique way towards socialism.

According to the TRAC:The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) is a political party in Tigray, Ethiopia that has been listed as a perpetrator in the Global Terrorism Database, based on ten incidents occurring between 1976 and 1990 (see GTD link).