Dessalegn Rahmato was for many years a Senior Research Fellow at AAU and left in 1997 to establish, along with some like-minded colleagues, Forum for Social Studies - an independent policy research institution for which he was the first Executive Director. He has published numerous books, monographs and papers. He is the winner of the 1999 Prince Claus Award, which is given by the Prince Claus Fund of the Netherlands, to individuals from the Third World, considered to have made significant contributions to their societies.