Wikipedia
Belessa was one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It was named after the former province Belessa, which lay in the same area. Part of the Semien Gondar Zone, Belessa was bordered on the south by the Debub Gondar Zone, on the west by Gondar Zuria, on the northwest by Wegera, on the northeast by Jan Amora, and on the east by the Wag Hemra Zone. Towns in Belessa included Arbaya and Hamusit. Belessa was separated for Mirab Belessa and Misraq Belessa woredas.
Rivers in Belessa include the Balagas. A notable landmark is Mount Wehni, where the former royal prison of the heirs to the throne of the Emperor of Ethiopia was located. Due to its inaccessibility and the lack of the most basic infrastructure, in 1999 the Regional government classified Belessa as one of its 47 drought prone and food insecure woredas. A 2005 survey of the eastern part of this woreda described it as a highly degraded and seriously drought-affected mountainous area, with an altitude that varied between 1,200 and 1,800 meters above sea level.
The member of parliament from Belessa is the former President of the Amhara Region, and one time Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Addisu Legesse.