- Welega Province
Welega was a province in the western part of
Ethiopia , with its capital city atNekemte . It was named for theWelega Oromo , who are the majority of the population within its boundaries.Welega was bordered on the west by
Sudan , on the north by theAbbay River which separated it fromGojjam , on the east byShewa , on the southeast by Kaffa, and on the south by Illubabor.History
Following the liberation of Ethiopia from Italian occupation in 1941, the following provinces were added to Welega to simplify administration: the semi-autonomous areas of Asosa,
Beni Shangul ,Leqa Nekemte , andLeqa Qellam , and the province of Sibu. [Paul B. Henze, "Layers of Time" (New York: Palgrave, 2000), pp. 237f.]The boundaries of Welega remained unchanged until the adoption of the constitution in
1995 , when Welega was divided, with part of its territory becoming the Asosa andKamashi Zone s of theBenishangul-Gumuz Region , and the rest becoming part of the Mirab Welega, Misraq Welega andIllubabor Zone s of theOromia Region .Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.