Halle selassie biography

Emperor Haile Selassie was born on July 23, 1892 as Tafari Makonnen just outside the city of Harrar in Enjersa Goro Province, Ethiopia. His mother was Yeshimbet Ali Abajiffar and his father was Ras (Duke) Makonnen Wolde Michael, Governor of Harrar, relative of Emperor Menelik II (1889-1913), and a former general who had played a key role in the 1896 Battle of Adowa where Ethiopia defeated an invading Italian Army to become the only African state to retain its independence by military action.

Appointed governor of Harrar Province, Tafari Makonnen, despite his descent from previous Emperors, would likely have remained an unimportant political figure had he not married his second wife, Menen Asfaw, niece to the heir of the Ethiopian throne, Lij Iyasu.  When rumors spread that Iyasu was flirting with Islam, Ethiopian nobles made Tafari regent in 1916.  Elevated to the rank of Ras, Tafari began to rule in fact while Empress Zewditu

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, the daughter of Emperor Menelik II, was official head of state.

As regent Ras Tafari Makonnen began the transformation of Ethiopia.  He ended slavery in 1923 and established a school for newly freed slaves in the capital, Addis Ababa. By ending slavery Selassie secured Ethiopia’s admission to The League of Nations.  Selassie also began touring Europe both to acquire knowledge and assistance in his modernization efforts and to raise the profile of the only independent monarchy on the African continent.

Ras Tafari Makonnen became Emperor outright in 1930 upon the death of Empress Zewditu.  Upon assuming the throne, he took the name Haile Selassie meaning “Might of the Trinity.” Continuing his modernization of the state, Selassie in 1931 established the first Ethiopian constitution which centralized governmental power under his leadership.  Selassie believed that a m

(1892-1975)

Who Was Haile Selassie I?

Haile Selassie was crowned emperor in 1930 but exiled during World War II after leading the resistance to the Italian invasion. He was reinstated in 1941 and sought to modernize the country over the next few decades through social, economic and educational reforms. He ruled until 1974, when famine, unemployment and political opposition forced him from office.

Early Years

Haile Selassie I was Ethiopia's 225th and last emperor, serving from 1930 until his overthrow by the Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1974. The longtime ruler traced his line back to Menelik I, who was credited with being the child of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

He was born in a mud hut in Ejersa Gora on July 23, 1892. Originally named Lij Tafari Makonnen, he was the only surviving and legitimate son of Ras Makonnen, the governor of Harar.

Among his father's important allies was his cousin, Emperor Menelik II, who did not have a male heir to succeed him. Tafari seemed like a possible candidate when, following his father's death in 1906, he was taken under the wing of Menelik.

In 1913, however, after the passing of Menelik II, it was the emperor's grandson, Lij Yasu, not Tafari, who was appointed as emperor. But Yasu, who maintained a close association with Islam, never gained favor with Ethiopia's majority Christian population. As a result Tafari became the face of the opposition, and in 1916 he took power from Lij Yasu and imprisoned him for life. The following year Menelik II's daughter, Zauditu, became empress, and Tafari was named regent and heir apparent to the throne.

For a country trying to gain its foothold in the young century and curry favor with the West, the progressive Tafari came to symbolize the hopes and dreams of Ethiopia's younger population. In 1923 he led Ethiopia into the League of Nations. The following year, he traveled to Europe, becoming the first Ethiopian ruler to go abroad.

His power

Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974

"Ras Tafari" redirects here. For the religion, see Rastafari.

Not to be confused with Haile Gebrselassie or Haile Selassie Gugsa.

Haile Selassie I (Ge'ez: ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, romanized: Qädamawi Ḫäylä Śəllase, Amharic pronunciation:[kʼədäˈmäwiˈhäjləsɨlˈläse], lit. 'Power of the Trinity'; born Tafari Makonnen or Lij Tafari; 23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (Enderase) under Empress Zewditu between 1916 and 1930. Widely considered to be a defining figure in modern Ethiopian history, he is accorded divine importance in Rastafari, an Abrahamic religion that emerged in the 1930s. A few years before he began his reign over the Ethiopian Empire, Selassie defeated Ethiopian army commander Ras Gugsa Welle Bitul, nephew of Empress Taytu Betul, at the Battle of Anchem. He belonged to the Solomonic dynasty, founded by Emperor Yekuno Amlak in 1270; Amlak's successors claimed that he was a lineal descendant of Menelik I, the legendary Emperor of Ethiopia who was supposedly born to King Solomon and Queen Makeda of the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Sheba, respectively. Historians regard the Solomonic lineage claim as unfounded, created by Amlak to justify wresting power from the Zagwe Dynasty.

Selassie, seeking to modernise Ethiopia, introduced political and social reforms including the 1931 constitution and the abolition of slavery in 1942. He led the empire during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, and after its defeat was exiled to the United Kingdom. When the Italian occupation of East Africa began, he traveled to Anglo-Egyptian Sudan to coordinate the Ethiopian struggle against Fascist Italy; he returned home after the East African campaign of World War II. He dissolved the Federati

1892-1975
Orthodox Church
Ethiopia

Emperor Haile Selassie (July 23, 1892 - August 26/27, 1975), born Tafari Makonnen, held power for some 50 years, and ruled as emperor from 1930-74. During the Italian invasion and occupation from 1935-41, when he was driven into exile, he became internationally famous as a symbol of resistance to Fascist aggression. In later years he made a major contribution to the cause of African unity.

Childhood and Education

He was born in Harar province in eastern Ethiopia, the son of Ras Makonnen (q.v.) and of Wayzaro Yeshimbet. His father was from the ruling line of the Shawa dynasty, was a grandson of Sahla Selassé (q.v.) on his mother’s side, and played an outstanding role during the reign of Menilek II (q.v.) [reigned 1889-1913]. He was the first governor of Harar after its reconquest in 1887, and was the envoy of Menilek to Italy and England. He married Yeshimbet in 1876, after which she bore him nine children, all of whom died within a few years of their birth. The tenth child of the couple, and the only one to survive was named Lej Tafari, Haile Selassie was his baptismal name, and hence later his throne name. After Tafari’s birth, he was abducted from his mother, and given to a nurse in the custody of a trusted general, Kegnazmatch Abba Nada. Yeshimbet was never again allowed to see her son. She died when he was 19 months old, from complications following the delivery of her 11th child.

Tafari was only four when the Italo-Ethiopian war of 1895-96 broke out. Before his departure to the war, Ras Makonnen entrusted his delicate son to the care of Monseigneur Taurin, a Catholic missionary in Harar. Tafari remained at the Mission until the triumphant return of his father, after an absence of about a year.

When he was five, a teacher was assigned to him and to his nephew, Emiru (later Ras) to e