The painter-poet, was born in 1932 in the Eastern province of Harar, Ethiopia, to father Aleka Desta, a clergyman, and mother W/o Atsede Mariam Wondimagegnehu. Gebre Kristos completed his elementary education in his native town of Harar, and attended the Haile Sellassie 1st School and General Wingate High School. He later joined the Science Department at Haile Sellassie 1st University, presently Addis Ababa University. Gebre Kristos did not pursue a career in his field of study, scientific agriculture, but instead studied art and painted in his spare time. Initially, Gebre Kristos was a self-taught artist, but in his sophomore year, his predilection for art won out, and Gebre Kristos abandoned his studies in hope of becoming a full-time artist.
