British Military Administration.

About British Military Administration

The British Military Administration in Ogaden and Haud, or simply British Ogaden, was the period of British Military Administration from 1941 until 1955. The British came to control Ogaden, and later only Haud, in the aftermath of the East African Campaign in 1941. The British intention was to unite British Ogaden with their colony in Somaliland and the former Italian colony of Somaliland, creating a single polity. This policy was in particular voiced by British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin. However, during the British administration period Haile Selassie had made several territorial demands, and while his demands for the annexation of former Italian Somaliland might have been a bargaining tactic, he was serious about the return of Ethiopian territories in the Ogaden and the annexation of Eritrea. These requests were ignored by the British, who favoured a separate Eritrean entity, and a Greater Somalia under their control. However, after continued Ethiopian deliberations and pressure from the United States, this policy was abandoned.