Haile Selassie
| Haile Selassie I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negusa Nagast Defender of the Faith | |||||
.jpg "Haile Selassie - Wikipedia 1") Haile Selassie in full dress, 1970 | |||||
| Emperor of Ethiopia | |||||
| Reign | 2 April 1930 –12 September 1974[nb 1] | ||||
| Coronation | 2 November 1930 | ||||
| Predecessor | Zewditu | ||||
| Successor | Amha Selassie | ||||
| Prime Minister | |||||
| Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia | |||||
| Reign | 27 September 1916 –2 April 1930 | ||||
| Predecessor | Tessema Nadew | ||||
| Successor | Ijigayehu Amha Selassie | ||||
| Monarch | Zewditu | ||||
| Born | Ras Tafari Makonnen 23 July 1892 Ejersa Goro,East Hararghe,Ethiopian Empire | ||||
| Died | 27 August 1975 (aged 83) National Palace,Addis Ababa,Ethiopia | ||||
| Burial | 5 November 2000 | ||||
| Spouse | Menen Asfaw | ||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Sahle Selassie(Solomonic -House of Solomon, Amhara Branch) | ||||
| Father | Makonnen Wolde Mikael | ||||
| Mother | Yeshimebet Ali | ||||
| Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo | ||||
| 1st & 5thChairman of the Organization of African Unity | |||||
| In office 25 May 1963 – 17 July 1964 | |||||
| Succeeded by | Gamal Abdel Nasser | ||||
| In office 5 November 1966 – 11 September 1967 | |||||
| Preceded by | Joseph Arthur Ankrah | ||||
| Succeeded by | Joseph-Désiré Mobutu | ||||
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Haile Selassie I(Ge’ez:ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ,romanized:Qädamawi Haylä Səllasé,[nb 2]Amharicpronunciation:[ˈhaɪlə sɨlˈlase](
listen);[nb 3]bornRasTafari Makonnen; 23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975)[4]was theEmperor of Ethiopiafrom 1930 to 1974. Prior to his coronation, he had been theRegent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopiafrom 1916. He is a defining figure in modern Ethiopian history.[5][6]He was a member of theSolomonic dynastywho traced his lineage to EmperorMenelik I.
Selassie attempted to modernize the country through a series ofpolitical and social reforms, including the introduction ofEthiopia‘sfirst written constitutionand the abolition of slavery. He led the failed efforts to defend Ethiopia during theSecond Italo-Ethiopian Warand spent the period ofItalian occupationin exile in England. He returned to lead Ethiopia in 1941 after the British Empire defeated the Italian occupiers in theEast African campaign. He dissolved theFederation of Ethiopia and Eritrea, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 1950, and integrated Eritrea as a province of Ethiopia whilefighting to prevent their independence.
His internationalist views led to Ethiopia becoming a charter member of the United Nations.[7]In 1963, he presided over the formation of theOrganisation of African Unity, the precursor of theAfrican Union, and served as its first chairman. He was overthrown in a 1974 military coup by a Marxist-Leninistjunta, theDerg. Selassie was murdered by the junta on 27 August 1975.
Among some members of theRastafari movement, Haile Selassie is referred to as the returnedmessiahof the Bible, Godincarnate. This distinction notwithstanding, Haile Selassie was a Christian and adhered to the tenets and liturgy of theEthiopian Orthodoxchurch.[8][9]The Rastafari movement was founded in Jamaica in the 1930s and its followers are estimated at between 700,000 and one million.
