Iskinder Desta
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Iskinder Desta KSS GCHT DMM OMRI |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
6 August 1934 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Died |
23 November 1974 (aged 40) Akaki Central Prison, Addis Ababa, Socialist Ethiopia |
| Allegiance |
 Ethiopia
|
| Service/branch | Imperial Ethiopian Navy |
| Years of service | 1955-1974 |
| Rank | Rear admiral |
| Commands held | Deputy Commander, Imperial Ethiopian Navy |
| Awards | Imperial Jubilee Medal Grand Cross of St. Olav Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic |
| Spouse(s) | Leult Sofia Amanuel |
| Relations | Naomi Iskinder (daughter) Princess Tenagnework (mother) Ras Desta Damtew (father) Haile Selassie I (grandfather) |
Rear Admiral Iskinder Desta (6 August 1934 – 23 November 1974) was a member of the Ethiopian Imperial family and naval officer. A grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie I, he served as the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Ethiopian Navy, its most senior officer, from 1958 until his execution by the Derg in 1974.
(Prince) Iskinder (also Iskander/Eskander) was born on 6 August 1934 in Addis Ababa, the child of Desta Damtew, a senior military commander and noble, and Princess Tenagnework, daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie I. In 1935, not long after his birth, the imperial family was forced to flee the Fascist Italian invasion into exile in Bath, Somerset; Ras Desta remained in the country to command the imperial forces fighting in the south of the country and was captured and executed in 1937. Iskinder was educated primarily in the United Kingdom. Desta was at Wellington College 1948-1951 (Wellington College Register). .
In 1952, Iskinder entered as a candidate in the Britannia Royal Naval College and passed as a midshipman. In 1955 he was commissioned into the newly established Imperial Ethiopian Navy as a sub-lieutenant, and in 1958, at the age of 21, he was made its Deputy Commander, with the rank of Commander. Despite his reputation as a "vigorous and progressive" commander and ties to the Imperial Family, Iskinder was a minor figure in Ethiopian politics. While some sources suggest that Iskinder was a possible successor to Emperor Haile Selassie, others maintain the emperor did not trust him and did not give him significant positions of responsibility. As a result Iskinder often performed minor governmental duties such as serving on the Executive Committee of the International Christian Fellowship and representing the Emperor at foreign royal events, such as in 1960, the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator in Portugal and the wedding of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium.
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