Eritrea officially celebrated its freedom on May 24, 1993, becoming the world's newest nation. Prior to Italian colonization in 1885, what is now Eritrea had been governed by the various local or international powers that successively controlled the Red Sea region. In 1896, the Italians used Eritrea as a springboard for their disastrous attempt to conquer Ethiopia. Eritrea was placed under British military administration after the Italian surrender in World War II. In 1952, a UN resolution federating Eritrea with Ethiopia went into effect. The resolution ignored Eritrean pleas for freedom but guaranteed Eritreans some democratic rights and a measure of autonomy. Almost immediately after the federation went into effect, these rights began to be abridged or violated.

In 1962, Emperor Haile Sellassie unilaterally broken the Eritrean parliament and annexed the nation, sparking the Eritrean fight for freedom that continued after Haile Sellassie was ousted in a coup in 1974. The new Ethiopian Government, called the Derg, was a Marxist military junta led by strongman Mengistu Haile Miriam.During the 1960s, the Eritrean freedom fight was led by the Eritrean Liberation Front. In 1970, members of the group had a falling out, and a group broke away from the ELF and formed the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). By the late 1970s, the EPLF had become the dominant armed Eritrean group fighting against the Ethiopian Government, and Isaias Afwerki had emerged as its leader. Much of the materiel used to combat Ethiopia was captured from the Ethiopian Army.

In May 1991, the EPLF accomplished the Provisional Government of Eritrea (PGE) to administer Eritrean affairs until a vote was held on freedom and a permanent government accomplished. EPLF leader Isaias became the head of the PGE, and the EPLF Central Committee served as its legislative body.On April 23-25, 1993, Eritreans voted overwhelmingly for freedom from Ethiopia in a UN-monitored free and fair vote. The Eritrean authorities declared Eritrea an independent state on April 27.The government was reorganized and after a national, freely contested election, the National Assembly, which chose Isaias as President of the PGE, was expanded to include both EPLF and non-EPLF members. The EPLF accomplished itself as a political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).