Holeta Genet is a town in central Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. Located in the Mirab Shewa Zone

Mirab Shewa Zone

Mirab Shewa is one of the 12 zones of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa...

 of the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

, it has a latitude and longitude of 9°3′N 38°30′E and an altitude of 2391 meters above sea level.

Holeta Genet is best known as the location of the Oletta Military Academy. Opened in January 1935, and staffed by five Swedish officers, the first class of 120 cadets did not complete their studies due to the Second Italian-Abyssinian War. It was reopened once Emperor Haile Selassie returned to Ethiopia, and celebrated its 25th anniversary 20-30 April, 1960. After the murder of Hadush Araya

Hayelom Araya

Major General Hadush "Hayelom" Araya is a former member of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front , which is the leading member of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front political coalition...

 on 14 February 1996, the academy was renamed for him. Hadush Araya was one of the military leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

The town also hosts a research station of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research

Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research

The Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute has evolved through several stages since its first initiation during the late 1940s, following the establishment of agricultural and technical school of Ambo and Jimma...

. Founded in 1963, this station is the national center for research to improve the yield of barley

Barley

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

, highland oil crops, potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

s, and dairy

Dairy

A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...

 products.

History

Holeta Gennet came into existence with the construction of the Addis Ababa - Addis Alem

Addis Alem

Addis Alem is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, west of Addis Ababa, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of about 2360 meters above sea level....

 road, and houses in the latter town were dismantled and brought to this new settlement. It became the new "country retreat" for Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul

Taytu Betul

thumb|Taytu BetulTaytu Betul was an Empress of the Ethiopian Empire and the wife of Emperor Menelek II.-Biography:...

 According to Richard Pankhurst

Richard Pankhurst (academic)

Richard Keir Pethick Pankhurst OBE is a British academic with expertise in the study of Ethiopia.-Early life and education:...

, when the couple were in residence, its population would mushroom from about 2,400 to as many as 15,000. It was the first place in Ethiopia to have a permanent water mill, built in 1909 on the Holetta River.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 in 2005, Holeta Genet has an estimated total population of 30,007 of whom 14,825 were men and 15,182 were women. According to the 1994 national census, this town has a population of 16,800. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 16,785 of whom 8,040 were males and 8,745 were females. It is the largest of three towns in Walmara

Walmara

Walmara is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Shewa Zone, it is bordered on the south by the Debub Mirab Shewa Zone, on the west by Ejerie, on the north by Adda Berga, on the northeast by the Semien Shewa Zone, and on the east by the city of Addis Ababa...

 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

.