Founded in the aftermath of the revolution and the military coup that toppled Emperor Haile Selassie in September 1974, the EDU professed a conservative agenda. Established under the tutelage of the hereditary Prince of Tigray, Ras Mangasha Seyum, the EDU was made up of various elements that included land owners who were opposed to the nationalization of their land holdings, monarchists, high-ranking military officers displaced by the mutineers who had led the coup against the Emperor, and conservative and centrist opponents of the Marxist-Leninist Derg.
Established in the wake of the revolution and the military coup that ousted Emperor Haile Selassie in September 1974, the EDU adopted a conservative ideology.  The EDU was formed under the leadership of Ras Mangasha Seyum, a hereditary Prince of Tigray, and included individuals who opposed land nationalization, monarchists, former military officers displaced by the coup, as well as conservative and centrist figures opposing the Marxist-Leninist Derg.