In an interview with ethiopianmillennium.com, Mr. Addis Tamiru – the first Ethiopian to settle in Australia – says ‘we have got to genuinely believe [that] after the millennium it is going to be a new Ethiopia.' He left Ethiopia in 1965 with a rare scholarship to study Electrical Engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne. His intention when he left Ethiopia was to finish his degree and to return to Ethiopia. But destiny – he says – turned the course of his life in to a different direction. Addis says not only is he the first Ethiopian expatriate in Australia, he is also the first Ethiopian to be married to an indigenous Australian and to have children of Ethiopian and indigenous Australian descent. When Emperor Haile Selassie came to visit Australia in 1968, Mr. Addis was the only Ethiopian to organize the official welcoming ceremony with Australian government officials.

Asked: ‘who do you think should be named Ethiopian of the millennium?', Mr.Addis said ‘…the country was under the Italians; we got librated, Ethiopia didn't have any university students or teachers; we suddenly got universities and students and doctors, Ethiopia was able to send her troops to Korea under the Unite Nations flag and they fought brilliantly, Ethiopia started the first organization of African Unity, Ethiopia was known around the world, and just one person did all that and people like me came to Australia for education whether poor or not, everyone had free education, everyone had enough to eat, ...he's the greatest man, the father of African Unity, the father of democracy, the father of everyone, you couldn't pass him, he will be the one for me, because I come from that generation and I've seen Ethiopia and I'm very proud to be part of that generation.'