Tsegaye Habteyimer [ፀጋዬ ኃብትይመር] was born in Adama (formerly known as Nazareth), Oromia Region, in 1950. His parents were members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. After coming to Addis Ababa in 1968 to study Mechanical Engineering, he befriended some Christian students, joined them, and became a member of Meserete Kristos Church.
Tsegaye joined the AAU Students’ Christian Fellowship Choir and began writing gospel songs and singing as a soloist in 1969. Having learned from Solomon Araya how to play the guitar, the two accompanied the choir together instrumentally.
Tsegaye Habteyimer had a long government career as a senior official of Ethiopia. He worked as the head of the planning department of the National Textile Company in Kombolcha and subsequently as the head of the planning department of the Ministry of Industry. He was then appointed Minister of Industry before finally moving to Daylight Bulb (a company owned by Ethiopia’s richest person, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-‘Amoudi).
Mr. Tsegaye was an active member of the Addis Ababa Meserete Kristos Church until his passing in 2015.
Album
(1) Iyuut Iyesusin [እዩት ኢየሱስን, Look at Jesus]. Solo cassette with his old gospel songs; published and distributed by Addis Ababa Meserete Kristos Church. Addis Ababa, 2007.
Q: Picture of cassette?
Songs in hymnbooks
Mezmur LeWotatoch (1971)
Several of the songs included in this hymn book of the AAU Students’ Christian Fellowship Choir are written by Mr. Tsegaye.
Səbhat laʼamlak (1973)
No. 57, 102, 328.
Səbhat laʼamlak (2007)
No. 55, 134, 438 are English hymns translated by Mr. Tsegaye.
At that time, the AAU Students Christian Fellowship Choir mainly used the original English tunes. However, no. 55 is adapted from a Yaredic melody.
God is Here (1981)
Audio (commercial and freemium)
» Check Tsegaye Habteyimer’s tracks on
- YouTube Music
Audio (YouTube)
Album
vol. 1 (playlist with lyrics):
Song
አምላክ ለእኛ ብሎ
An English version can be found in the above-mentioned songbook “God is Here.”
Picture
Ethiopian University Students Christian Fellowship Choir:
Tsegaye Habteyimer can be found in the back row [behind two female singers].
— Solomon Araya Habte-Egzi / Yohannes Lala
(additional information from
Temesgen Teklemariam [Facebook])