EMPEROR
HAILE SELASSIE I
The Columbia Encyclopedia:
Sixth Edition. 2000.
1892–1975,
Emperor of Ethiopia (1930–74).
He was born Tafari Makonnen, the son of a noted general and
the grandnephew of Emperor Menelik II. A brilliant student,
he became a favorite of Menelik, who made him a provincial
governor at 14. As a Coptic Christian, Tafari opposed Menelik’s
grandson and successor, who became a Muslim convert, and in
1916 compelled his deposition and established Menelik’s
daughter Zauditu as empress with himself as regent. In 1928,
Tafari was crowned king of Ethiopia, and in 1930, after the
empress’s mysterious death, he became emperor as Haile
Selassie, claiming to be a direct descendant of King Solomon
and the Queen of Sheba. He attempted internal reforms and
took great pride in the suppression of slavery. When Italy
invaded Ethiopia in 1935, he personally led defending troops
in the field, but in 1936 he was forced to flee to British
protection. Twice (1936, 1938) he vainly appealed to the League
of Nations for effective action against Italy. In 1940, after
Italy entered World War II, he returned to Africa with British
aid, and in 1941 he reentered Ethiopia and regained his throne.
In the postwar
period he instituted social and political reforms, such as
establishing (1955) a national assembly. In the 1960s and
70s he worked for pan-African aims, particularly through the
Organization of African Unity. In 1960 he crushed a revolt
by a group of young intellectuals and army officers demanding
an end to oppression and poverty. In 1974, however, the army
was successful in seizing control. Haile Selassie was progressively
stripped of his powers and finally, on Sept. 12, 1974, deposed.
He was murdered in prison at the orders of the coup leaders
in 1975. |
