Richard Pankhurst (Prof.), a British national and one of the founders of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies of the Addis Ababa University and a true friend of Ethiopia, passed away this week. Pankhurst, who was born into a family of activists, recently suffered from a case of pneumonia, and had been battling Parkinson’s disease for some time. He was 89.
The celebrated Ethiopicist moved to Ethiopia in 1956 with his mother, Sylvia Pankhurst, a celebrated feminist of the suffragette movement in the United Kingdom. She campaigned aggressively against Fascist Italy’s occupation of Ethiopia in the 1930s. She founded the newspaper, New Times and Ethiopian News, to oppose the occupation and to call for the imposition of economic sanctions on Italy.
At the end of the occupation, at the age of 74, she moved to Ethiopia with her son, Richard, and launched a new publication, the Ethiopian Observer. Upon her death, four years later, Emperor Haile Selassie granted her a rare state funeral and made her “an honorary Ethiopian”. Her son inherited his mother’s love and passion for Ethiopia.
Richard obtained his PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science. In 1950, he made his first trip to Ethiopia and six year later, moved here for good. For almost two decades, he edited the Ethiopian Observer, with his mother until her death in 1960 and with his wife until 1974. He also served as a lecturer at the then Haile Selassie I University (now Addis Ababa University), and later became the founding director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies.
Pankhurst authored more than 20 books on Ethiopia and was an outspoken advocate for the return of the Aksum Obelisk to Ethiopia. The obelisk was taken from its site by Fascist Italy’s forces and was later erected at a square in Rome.
In 1976, he returned to the United Kingdom and was appointed a research fellow at the London School of Economics, at the School of Oriental and African Studies and as the Librarian of the Royal Asiatic Society. While in London, he coordinated an international conference on Ethiopian art.
In 1987, he returned to Ethiopia to once again do research and teach at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Addis Ababa University and was also honored with the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. He was also a regular commentator on the history and culture of Ethiopia and a columnist for local papers.
Richard Pankhurst died on Thursday, February 16th. He is survived by his wife, Rita, a daughter, , Helen, and a son ,Alula, and four grandchildren. His funeral will be held Monday, February 20th at the Holy Trinity Cathedral Church.
