The latter were nicknamed 'the Gang of Four'. The key member of the 'Gang of Four' was Shemelis Mazengia. The other three were Alemu Abebe, Fassika Sidell and Shewandagne Abebe. These four civilians were entrusted with running of the daily affairs of the party. The Executive Committee also had six alternate members. The leading bodies of COPWE were dominated by people from the armed forces. Around two thirds of the Central Committee members had a military or police background. All 16 government ministers were members of the Central Committee (only one of them was an alternate member). Ato Hussein Ismail who was the first Somali to become a Politician in Ethiopia and lay the foundation for Somali inclusiveness into Ethiopia was also part of the Central Committee. There was only one woman, Tiruwork Wakoyo, in the Central Committee. Officially Fisseha Desta was the First Secretary of COPWE, but in practice Legesse Asfaw (Head of Organizational Affairs) led the Secretariat. The Secretariat consisted mainly of civilian ideologues, under the supervision of senior Derg members. According to Peter Schwab, citing a 1980 article in the "Ethiopian Herald", two thirds of the Central Committee members were Amharas. The first congress of COPWE was held on June 16-19, 1980. The congress established the strengthening and politicizing of mass organizations as key priority. The All-Ethiopian Trade Union and the All-Ethiopian Peasants Association were to be reconstructed. The congress called for the founding of the Revolutionary Ethiopia Youth Association and the Revolutionary Ethiopia Women's Association. The Central Committee met in plenary sessions once per year. The second plenary session of the COPWE Central Committee, held in February 1981, marked the first time after the 1974 military takeover than government policies were declared through a party organ rather than the Derg military junta. Regional COPWE representatives were appointed in June 1980, but except for Eritrea the appointed representatives were the incumbent military chief administrators. These two posts were separated in late 1981, thus establishing parallel party and state hierarchies in the regions. Only in Gonder was the regional representative, Melaku Tefera, a native of the area. Elections to "kebele" (urban dwellers association) councils were held in 1981. All candidates were screened by COPWE prior to the vote. COPWE then moved to create party structures on district levels. The first district organization was created in Assab in April 1981.