Engineer Belete Aklilu Dejene

Eng. Belete was born on May 24, 1940 in the town of Qersa, Harar province, Ethiopia to Memere Aklilu Dejene, and Woizero Azalech Belay. He comes from a traditionally rooted Christian Orthodox family where his father, former judge Memere Aklilu, served as the head priest at St. Giorgis Church in Qersa.

Eng. Belete earned his Civil Engineering degree from Addis Ababa University – Building College, and his advanced degree from the University of Liverpool – School of Engineering, in UK. Afterwards, he returned back to his beloved country and joined the Ethiopian Roads Authority as Head of Learning and Development Division. During his tenure, he noticed the gap in skills and inconsistency; and his eccentric reasoning led him to developing a standardized Engineering Training Manual, which was the first of its kind and still being used till this day. He was then promoted by Ethiopian Ministry of Industry to lead various mega projects, including the construction of Harar Brewery (now acquired by Heineken), Ethiopian Textile Manufacturing Company, and Akaki Metal and Spare parts factory.

Eng. Belete then joined BERTA Construction, the first and the largest privately owned engineering construction company in Ethiopia as Chief Engineer and Second-In-Command. He was instrumental in securing numerous contracts and overseeing some of the largest road, highway, bridge, and building construction projects throughout Ethiopia, including Mekanisa highway construction in the heart of Addis Ababa. Subsequently, he founded East African Engineering consulting firm where he embarked on various construction projects and with major engineering and architecture firms in Ethiopia. Throughout his career, he has traveled across the globe including Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, South & North America.

Eng. Belete has made relentless contributions to his community and was very well-regarded by his peers. As a founding and lifelong member of “Qersa Mehaber”, he and his childhood friends formed a bond that continues till this day. He was known for his quick wit, his infectious smile, and his kind and compassionate spirit. During his spare time, he enjoyed watching sports, traveling, walking, reading, puzzles, and spending time with his family.

Eng. Belete, who is survived by his love of life, Engineer Teruwork Baheta, his sister Wede Aklilu, brother Ato. Engida Moges, his children; Yodit, Bezi, Dereje, and Ephrem; his grandchildren; Gabriella, Henock, Mathias and Veronica, moved to the US to be closer to his family whom he adored. Eng. Belete and Woizero Teruwork recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Raleigh, NC where they have called home for the past nine years. His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of everyone he interacted with as well as those he reached but never met.

A grave site private memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 20th at 2:30 pm in Raleigh Memorial Park. The service will be recorded and posted to the Facebook Page of Mitchell Funeral Home at Raleigh Memorial Park afterwards, for those unable to attend.

Flowers ordered for the service may be delivered to Mitchell Funeral Home on Friday afternoon by 4:30 pm or Saturday morning by 12 Noon.

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