Haile Selassie
| Haile Selassie I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negusa Nagast Defender of the Faith | |||||
.jpg) Haile Selassie in full dress, 1970 | |||||
| Emperor of Ethiopia | |||||
| Reign | 2 April 1930 βΒ 12 September 1974[nb 1] | ||||
| Coronation | 2 November 1930 | ||||
| Predecessor | Zewditu | ||||
| Successor | Amha Selassie | ||||
| Prime Minister | |||||
| Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia | |||||
| Reign | 27 September 1916 βΒ 2 April 1930 | ||||
| Predecessor | Tessema Nadew | ||||
| Successor | Ijigayehu Amha Selassie | ||||
| Monarch | Zewditu | ||||
| Born | Ras Tafari Makonnen 23 July 1892 Ejersa Goro,Β East Hararghe,Β Ethiopian Empire | ||||
| Died | 27 August 1975Β (agedΒ 83) National Palace,Β Addis Ababa,Β Ethiopia | ||||
| Burial | 5 November 2000 | ||||
| Spouse | Menen Asfaw | ||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Sahle SelassieΒ (Solomonic -House of Solomon, Amhara Branch) | ||||
| Father | Makonnen Wolde Mikael | ||||
| Mother | Yeshimebet Ali | ||||
| Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo | ||||
| 1st & 5thΒ Chairman of the Organization of African Unity | |||||
| In office 25 May 1963Β β 17 July 1964 | |||||
| Succeeded by | Gamal Abdel Nasser | ||||
| In office 5 November 1966Β β 11 September 1967 | |||||
| Preceded by | Joseph Arthur Ankrah | ||||
| Succeeded by | Joseph-DΓ©sirΓ© Mobutu | ||||
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Haile Selassie IΒ (Ge’ez:Β αα³αα ααα α₯αα΄,Β romanized:Β QΓ€damawi HaylΓ€ SΙllasΓ©,[nb 2]Β AmharicΒ pronunciation:Β [ΛhaΙͺlΙ sΙ¨lΛlase]Β (
listen);[nb 3]Β bornΒ RasΒ Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 1892Β β 27 August 1975)[4]Β was theΒ Emperor of EthiopiaΒ from 1930 to 1974. Prior to his coronation, he had been theΒ Regent Plenipotentiary of EthiopiaΒ from 1916. He is a defining figure in modern Ethiopian history.[5][6]Β He was a member of theΒ Solomonic dynastyΒ who traced his lineage to EmperorΒ Menelik I.
Selassie attempted to modernize the country through a series ofΒ political and social reforms, including the introduction ofΒ Ethiopia‘sΒ first written constitutionΒ and the abolition of slavery. He led the failed efforts to defend Ethiopia during theΒ Second Italo-Ethiopian WarΒ and spent the period ofΒ Italian occupationΒ in exile in England. He returned to lead Ethiopia in 1941 after the British Empire defeated the Italian occupiers in theΒ East African campaign. He dissolved theΒ Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 1950, and integrated Eritrea as a province of Ethiopia whileΒ fighting to prevent their independence.
His internationalist views led to Ethiopia becoming a charter member of the United Nations.[7]Β In 1963, he presided over the formation of theΒ Organisation of African Unity, the precursor of theΒ African Union, and served as its first chairman. He was overthrown in a 1974 military coup by a Marxist-LeninistΒ junta, theΒ Derg. Selassie was murdered by the junta on 27 August 1975.
Among some members of theΒ Rastafari movement, Haile Selassie is referred to as the returnedΒ messiahΒ of the Bible, GodΒ incarnate. This distinction notwithstanding, Haile Selassie was a Christian and adhered to the tenets and liturgy of theΒ Ethiopian OrthodoxΒ church.[8][9]Β The Rastafari movement was founded in Jamaica in the 1930s and its followers are estimated at between 700,000 and one million.
