Heruy Welde Sellase

Heruy Welde Sellase (8 May 1878 – 19 September 1938; ብላቴን፡ጌታ፡ኅሩይ፡ወልደ፡ሥላሴ Blatten-Geta Həruy Wäldä-səllase) was a Foreign Minister of Ethiopia and a writer in Amharic. Bahru Zewde observes that his career "stands out as the great success story ... of the early twentieth-century intellectuals," then continues, "His prolific literary record, his influence with Tafari-Hayla-Sellase and his ascent in the bureaucratic hierarchy were all characterized by an unchequered progression.Edward Ullendorff concurs in this evaluation, describing his oeuvre as "a considerable and distinguished literary output."

John Spencer, who met Heruy in early 1936, described him as "a short, rotund, white-haired man ... with a goatee and a café au lait complexion. His corpulent build and backward-leaning stance suggested a Santa Claus, except for his black cape and the absence of a sparkle in his eyes. He was remarkably ponderous and deliberate (qunin), in his movements, perhaps reflecting the importance which he assigned to his position as foreign minister and to the reputation which he had earned among Ethiopians for his writings on Ethiopian history."

Born Gebre Masqal in the region of [Merhabete]], Heruy received his initial education in the traditional manner at local churches until his father died when he was 13. He found a living working as deacon to a big landlord in return for food and clothing until he achieved an appointment as clerk to Dejazmach Bashah Abboye, the governor of Selale. Continuing in other clerical positions, he eventually came to the notice of the priests of Saint Raguel on Mount Entoto, who rekindled his desire for learning. He joined the school attached to that church, where he was taught by the Ethiopian Orthodox priest Mamher Walda Giyorgis. According to Bahru Zewde, it was Walda Giyorgis who gave him his name "Heruy" (Amharic "precious"). Not satisfied with a traditional education, Heruy cast his eyes further afield and learned English at the Swedish mission school in Addis Ababa then picked up some French working with a French veterinary team. Regent Ras Tefari (later Emperor Haile Selassie) appointed Heruy in 1916 to serve as administrator of Addis Ababa. He was a member of Ethiopia's first delegation to the League of Nations (7 August 1922) and part of the retinue that accompanied the Regent on his tour of Europe in 1924. By the early 1930s, he was promoted to Foreign Minister, and held that office at the beginning of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

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