Haile Selassie I | |
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Haile Selassie I in 1969
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Emperor of Ethiopia () | |
Reign | 2 April 1930 – 12 September 1974 |
Coronation | 2 November 1930 |
Predecessor | Zewditu |
Successor |
Asfaw Wossen (Amha Selassie) as "King of Ethiopia" (Did not recognise designation as such) |
Prime Ministers | |
Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia | |
Reign | 27 September 1916 – 2 April 1930 |
Predecessor |
Ras Bitwoded Tessema Nadew (Under Iyasu V) |
Monarch | Zewditu |
Born | Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael 23 July 1892 Ejersa Goro, Ethiopian Empire |
Died | 27 August 1975 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
(aged 83)
Burial | 5 November 2000 Holy Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Spouse | Menen Asfaw |
Issue |
Princess Romanework Princess Tenagnework Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen Princess Zenebework Princess Tsehai Prince Makonnen Prince Sahle Selassie |
Dynasty | Solomonic (Sahle Selassie branch) |
Father | Makonnen Woldemikael |
Mother | Yeshimebet Ali |
Religion | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo |
Styles of Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia |
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Reference style |
Amharic: ግርማዊ? girmāwī His Imperial Majesty |
Spoken style |
Amharic: ጃንሆይ? djānhoi Your Imperial Majesty (lit. "O [esteemed] royal") |
Alternative style |
Amharic: ጌቶቹ? getochu Our Lord (familiar) (lit. "Our master" (pl.)) |
Haile Selassie | |
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1st & 5th Chairman of the Organization of African Unity | |
In office 25 May 1963 – 17 July 1964 |
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Succeeded by | Gamal Abdel Nasser |
In office 5 November 1966 – 11 September 1967 |
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Preceded by | Joseph Arthur Ankrah |
Succeeded by | Joseph-Désiré Mobutu |
Haile Selassie I (Ge'ez: ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ, qädamawi haylä səllasé; Amharic pronunciation: [ˈhaɪlɜ sɨˈlːase]);23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael , was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor from 1930 to 1974. He also served as Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 25 May 1963 to 17 July 1964 and 5 November 1966 to 11 September 1967. He was a member of the Solomonic Dynasty.
At the League of Nations in 1936, the Emperor condemned the use of chemical weapons by Italy against his people during the Second Italo–Ethiopian War. His internationalist views led to Ethiopia becoming a charter member of the League of Nations, and his political thought and experience in promoting multilateralism and collective security have proved seminal and enduring. His suppression of rebellions among the landed aristocracy (the ), which consistently opposed his reforms, as well as what some critics perceived to be Ethiopia's failure to modernize rapidly enough, earned him criticism among some contemporaries and historians. His regime was also criticized by human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, as autocratic and illiberal.
Among the Rastafari movement, whose followers are estimated at between two and four million, Haile Selassie is revered as the returned messiah of the Bible, God incarnate. Beginning in Jamaica in the 1930s, the Rastafari movement perceives Haile Selassie as a messianic figure who will lead a future golden age of eternal peace, righteousness, and prosperity. Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian throughout his life. He is a defining figure in Ethiopian history.