Haile Selassie of Ethiopia

Emperor Haile Selassie I (Power of Trinity) (born Ras Tafari Makonnen July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was the last Emperor (1930–1936; 1941–1974) of Ethiopia, and is the religious symbol for Jah incarnate among the Rastafarian religion.

Early years

Haile Selassie was born in the town-village of Ejersa Goro, Ethiopia, as Ras Tafari Makonnen. His father was Ras Makonnen, the governor of Harar and his mother was Wezero Yeshimebet Ali. He inherited his Imperial blood through his paternal grandmother, Tenagnework Sahle Selassie, who was an aunt of Emperor Menelik II and claimed to be a direct descendant of Makeda, Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of ancient Israel.

Haile Selassie became Negus in 1928 and then Emperor upon Zauditu's death on April 2 1930. His coronation was on November 21 in the capital Addis Ababa in front of representatives from 12 countries. He took the full title His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Lion of Judah|/onquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God.

He developed the policy of careful modernisation initiated by Menelik II, securing Ethiopia's admission to the League of Nations and abolishing slavery in the Empire in 1923. He introduced Ethiopia's first written constitution on July 16 1931 which provided for an appointed bi-cameral legislature. It was the first time that non-noble subjects had an active role in official government policy. The League's failure to stop the Second Italo-Ethiopian War;Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1935;led him to five years in exile.

Haile Selassie returned to Ethiopia in 1941, after Italy's defeat in Ethiopia by United Kingdom|and Ethiopian patriot forces. Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations (UN). In 1951, after a lengthy fact finding inquiry by the allied powers and then the UN, the former Italian colony of Eritrea was federated to Ethiopia as a compromise between the sizable factions that wanted complete Union with the Empire and those who wanted complete independence from it. In November 1955 he introduced a revised constitution, [1] under which he retained effective power while extending political participation by allowing the lower house of parliament to become an elected body. Modern educational methods were more widely spread throughout the Empire, and the country embarked on a development scheme and plans for modernization, tempered by Ethiopian traditions, and within the framework of the ancient monarchial structure of the state.

Later years

Following an abortive coup attempt on December 13 1960 by his Imperial Guard forces – who briefly proclaimed Haile Selassie's eldest son Asfa Wossen as the new Emperor – Haile Selassie pursued more conservative policies, aligning Ethiopia with the West and distancing himself from the more common radical leftist African governments. The coup attempt, although lacking wide popular support, denounced by the Orthodox Church, and crushed by the Army, Air and Police forces, had gained considerable support among the students of the University and elements of the young educated technocrats in the country. It marked the beginning of an increased radicalisation of Ethiopia's student population.

In 1963 the Emperor presided over the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity with the new organisation setting up its headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The increasingly radical student movement took hold in Addis Ababa University and high school campuses, and student unrest became a regular feature of Ethiopian life. Marxism took root in large segments of the Ethiopian intelligentsia. Resistance by conservative elements at the Imperial Court and Parliament, in addition to within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, made proposals of widespread land reform policies impossible to implement, and also damaged the standing of the government.

Outside of Ethiopia, however, the Emperor continued to enjoy enormous prestige and respect. As the longest serving Head of State then in power, the Emperor was usually given precedence over all other leaders at most international state events such as the celebration of the 2500 years of the Persian Empire, the summits of the Non-aligned movement, and the state funerals of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Charles de Gaulle. His frequent travels around the world raised Ethiopia's international image.

A devastating drought in the Province of Wollo in 1972-73 caused a large famine which was covered up by the Imperial government and kept from Haile Selassie, who was celebrating his 80th birthday amidst much pomp and ceremony. When a BBC documentary exposed the existence and scope of the famine, the government was seriously undermined, and the Emperor's once unassailable personal popularity fell. Simultaneously, economic hardship caused by high oil prices and widespread military mutinies in the country further weakened him. The Derg, set up to investigate the military's demands, took advantage of the government's disarray to depose Emperor Haile Selassie on September 12,1974]. The Emperor was placed under house arrest briefly at the 4th Army Division in Addis Ababa, while most of his family were detained at the late Duke of Harrar's residence in the north of the capital. The Emperor was then moved to a house on the grounds of the old Imperial Palace where the new government set up it's headquarters.

On August 28, 1975, the state media reported that the "ex-monarch" Haile Selassie had died on August 27, 1975, following complications from a prostate operation. His doctor denied that complications had occurred and rejected the government version of his death. Some believe that he was suffocated in his sleep. Witnesses came forward after the fall of the Marxist government in 1991, to reveal that the Emperor's remains had been buried beneath the president's personal office. On November 5, 2000 Emperor Haile Selassie was given an Imperial funeral by the Ethiopian Orthodox church. The current post-communist government refused to give it the status of a state funeral.

The Rastafarians

Amongst followers of the Rastafarian movement, a religion which developed in the 1930s in Jamaica under the influence of Marcus Mosiah Garvey's "Back to Africa" movement, Haile Selassie is seen as God incarnate, the Black Messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to freedom. His official titles, King of kings, Lord of lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and Root of David, are believed to be the titles of the returned Messiah in the New Testament Book of Revelation. Their belief in the incarnate divinity of Emperor Haile Selassie began very shortly after his crowning.

When Haile Selassie visited Jamaica on April 21 1966 somewhere between one and two hundred thousand Rastafarians from all over Jamaica descended on Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston having heard that the man whom they considered to be God was coming to visit them. When Haile Selassie arrived at the airport he refused to get off the aeroplane for an hour until Mortimer Planner, a well known Rasta persuaded him that it was safe to do so. From then on the visit was a success. Rita Marley, Bob Marley's wife, converted to the Rastafarian faith after seeing Haile Selassie, and her fervour was what drew Bob Marley into the faith himself.

Haile Selassie's attitude to the Rastafarians

Haile Selassie was never a member of the Rastafarian faith, though he never publicly condemned it. The Rastas were never worried by Haile Selassie never claiming to be God, saying that the real God would never claim to be so just to get worldly acclaim and power. During the Emperor's visit to Jamaica he told the Rastafarian community leaders that they should not emigrate to Ethiopia until they had liberated the people of Jamaica. After the visit, the Emperor is said to have told Ethiopian Orthodox Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq: "There is a problem in Jamaica… Please, help these people. They are misunderstanding, they do not understand our culture… They need a church to be established and you are chosen to go." In the light of the deep longing of Rastafarians to return to Africa, and the great love they had for Ethiopia, he donated a piece of land at Shashamane, 250 km south of Addis Ababa for the use of Jamaican Rastafarians. There is still a community there. He remained a devout member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church his entire life.

The Rastafarians' attitude towards Haile Selassie

Many Rastafarians say that they know Haile Selassie is God, and therefore do not need to believe it. Belief to them implies doubt, and they claim to have no doubts about his divinity. In the early days of the movement he was seen as a symbol of black pride, and as a king for African people. The first Rastafarian to appear in front of a court was Leonard Howell, who was charged with sedition against the state of Jamaica, and its King George V. Howell declared himself a loyal subject not of the king of England, but of Haile Selassie. Emperor Haile Selassie going to plead in front of the League of Nations, and then being rejected by them, confirmed their belief in his greatness. For them the nations of Babylon, in reference to the ancient biblical place turned their back on the returned messiah. Many equated the Italo-Ethiopian war with the fight in the Book of Revelation between the returned messiah and the antichrist. The Emperor's restoration to power in 1941 strengthened the Rastafarian faith that he was Almighty God.

They also call him "Jah Rastafari Selassie," and affectionately Jah Jah. They are very proud of knowing and declaring that he is their God. They believe that marijuana brings them closer to God, and will always bless the pipes they communally smoke in the name of "Selassie". Roots reggae is full of thanks and praises towards "Selassie". He is referred to as Haile Selassie I (pronouncing the Roman numeral that indicates "the first" as the word "I", that being the first person pronoun), thus emphasising the personal relationship they have with the Emperor Haile Selassie. They believe Haile Selassie will one day call the day of judgement, calling the righteous and the faithful to live with him for ever in Holy Mount Zion, a mythical place in Africa.

Some Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie is still alive, and that his purported death was part of a conspiracy to discredit their religion. It is almost certain that more people have now heard of Haile Selassie through the Rastafarian movement than know of him as a historical or political figure. Many Rastas are very concerned that the world should see Haile Selassie in a positive light.

Quote

• "That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained." – Haile Selassie, United Nations, and popularised in a song called War by Bob Marley.

External links

• The Haile Selassie Archives
• Imperial Crown Council of Ethiopia
• Speech to the League of Nations, June 1936 (full text)
• Speech to the UN on October 4, 1963 from which Bob Marley made his famous song 'War'.
• Marcus Garvey's prophecy of Haile Selassie as the returned messiah
• Selassie's attitude to the Rastas
• Selassie and the Italo-Ethiopian war
• Time article 25 years after his death with links to other Time articles on him

Bibliography

• Ryszard Kapuscinski, The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat. 1978. ISBN 0679722033

• Paul B. Henze. "The Rise of Haile Selassie: Time of Troubles, Regent, Emperor, Exile" and "Ethiopia in the Modern World: Haile Selassie from Triumph to Tragedy" in Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia. New York: Palgrave, 2000. ISBN 0312227191