Emperor Amha Selassie of Ethiopia

Emperor Amha Selassie of Ethiopia (1916 - February 17, 1997) was the exiled claimant of the Ethiopian Imperial Throne (also known as Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen). Born as Asfaw Wossen Taffari, in the walled city of Harrar to Dejazmatch Taffari Makonnen, the then governor of Harrar and future Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie, and his wife Menen Asfaw the future Empress, in August of 1916. Emperor Amha Selassie (Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen) of Ethiopia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Emperor Amha Selassie (Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen) of Ethiopia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... Harar, also spelled Harrar, is a city in Ethiopia, situated in the eastern extension of the Ethiopian highlands, about five hundred km from Addis Ababa. ... Haile Selassie Haile Selassie (Power of Trinity) (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was the last Emperor (1930–1936; 1941–1974) of Ethiopia, and is the religious symbol for God incarnate in the Rastafarian religion. ... Menen Asfaw, Empress of Ethiopia Empress Menen Asfaw was the wife and consort of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. ...

Biography

He became Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen of Ethiopia when his father was crowned Emperor on November 2, 1930. Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen was given the title of "Merid Azmatch" and given the province (former kingdom) of Wollo to rule as his fief. He was married to Princess Wollete Israel Seyoum, great-granddaughter of Emperor Yohannis IV, and had a daughter, Princess Ijigayehu. Following the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936, the Crown Prince and Princess went into exile with the rest of the Imperial family, but were separated around 1938. They were eventually divorced in 1941. November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Wollo was a province in the north-eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Dessye. ... Yohannes IV (? - March 10, 1889), also known as Johannes IV or John IV, born Dejaz Kassai, was Negus (Emperor) of Ethiopia from 1872 until his death in 1889. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Following Emperor Haile Selassie's restoration in 1941, the Crown Prince returned to Ethiopia, and participated in the campaign to drive the Italian forces out of the city of Gondar, the last town they held in Ethiopia. He briefly served as acting governor of the provinces of Begemder and Tigray, retaining Wollo the entire time. He was eventually remarried to Princess Medferiaswork Abebe, and would father three more daughters, Princesses Mariam Senna, Sefrash, Sehin, and a son Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie. 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Gondar (less commonly spelled Gonder) was the old imperial capital of Ethiopia located in Beghemidir province. ... Begemder was a province in the north-eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Gondar. ... Tigray is the northern-most of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. ... Wollo was a province in the north-eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Dessye. ... Crown Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie Crown Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie and son of Emperor-in-Exile Amha Selassie of Ethiopia. ...

In December 1960, the Imperial Guard launched a coup and seized power in Ethiopia while the Emperor was on a visit to Brazil. The coup leaders compelled the Crown Prince to read a radio statement, in which he accepted the crown in his father's place and announced a government of reform. However, the regular army and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church both refused to accept the new government, and the leader of the church, Patriarch Abune Baslios, issued an anathema against all those who cooperated with the coup leaders. The Emperor returned to Ethiopia and the Army stormed the palace where members of the government were being held prisoner by the Imperial Guards. The Guards fled, but not before killing many members of the government and the nobility that had been held prisoner in the Green Salon of the palace. Although it was explained that the Crown Prince had acted under duress, his outlook had long been regarded as considerably more liberal than that of his father, and so he would always be suspected of having been a willing participant in the coup attempt. The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world. ... The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is an Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia that was part of the Coptic Church until it was granted its own Patriarch by Cyril VI, the Coptic Pope, in 1959. ...

In 1973, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen suffered a massive stroke and was evacuated to Switzerland for medical treatment. He was accompanied by his wife and daughters. The stroke left him permanently unable to walk, paralyzed on one side, and affected his speech. As Prince Asfaw Wossen was not expected to live, his son, Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie, a student at Cambridge at the time, was named "Acting Crown Prince" and "Heir Presumptive". 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Swiss Confederation or Switzerland is a landlocked federal state in Europe, with neighbours Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. ... Crown Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie Crown Prince Zera Yacob Amha Selassie is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie and son of Emperor-in-Exile Amha Selassie of Ethiopia. ...

Life in Exile

On September 12, 1974, the Marxist Derg military junta deposed Emperor Haile Selassie and declared that Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen would be annointed "King" and a constitutional monarch upon his return from medical treatment in Europe. However, the revolutionaries showed their true colors and soon abolished the monarchy, and Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen became an exile along with his wife and children. In early 1975, the Crown Prince and his family moved from Geneva, Switzerland, to London, where they would live along with several other members of the Imperial family for most of their exile. Many members of the Imperial family remaining in Ethiopia were imprisoned, including his father the Emperor; his daughter by his first marriage, Princess Ijigayehu; his sister Princess Tenagnework; and many of his nephews, neices, relatives and in-laws. In 1975, first his daughter Princess Ijigayehu, and then his father Emperor Haile Selassie died in detention. Members of the Imperial family would remain imprisoned until 1988 (for the women) and 1989 (for the men). September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The Derg was the ruling committee of Ethiopia from 1974 until 1987. ... Coat of arms of the Canton of Geneva Coat of arms of the City of Geneva Geneva (French: Genève, German: Genf, Italian: Ginevra, Romansh Genevra, Spanish: Ginebra) is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zurich), located where Lake Geneva (French: Lac de Genève or Lac L... The Swiss Confederation or Switzerland is a landlocked federal state in Europe, with neighbours Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. ... Greater London and the Regions of England. ... Princess Tenagnework Princess Tenagnework Haile Selassie was the eldest child of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen of Ethiopia. ... Haile Selassie Haile Selassie (Power of Trinity) (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was the last Emperor (1930–1936; 1941–1974) of Ethiopia, and is a religious symbol in the Rastafarian movement. ...

In April 1989, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen was proclaimed "Emperor of Ethiopia" in exile, at his home in London by members of the exiled Ethiopian community. He took the throne name of Amha Selassie I. His wife began also using the title of "Empress". A year later, the Emperor and Empress in exile moved to the Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C. to be close to the large Ethiopian Immigrant population there. Greater London and the Regions of England. ... State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

In 1991, with the fall of the Derg, and the coming to power of the EPRDF in Ethiopia, Amha Selassie founded the Moa Ambassa Monarchist Movement to promote a monarchial restoration in Ethiopia and announced his intention to return to his country for a visit. However, following the disinterment of the remains of Emperor Haile Selassie, a dispute erupted between the Imperial family and the new government over the status of a funeral that was planned for the late Emperor. The government refused to give Haile Selassie a state funeral, and as a result, the funeral, and the return of Amha Selassie was indefinitely postponed. The Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, is the ruling political party of Ethiopia. ... The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ityopiya, Amharic ኢትዮጵያ) is a country situated in the Horn of Africa. ...

Amha Selassie died of long time ailments in Virginia, in the United States at age 80 on February 17, 1997. His body was flown back to Ethiopia and buried in the Imperial family vaults at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa in a huge ceremonial funeral presided over by Patriarch Abune Paulos of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Addis Ababa (Amharic new flower) is the capital of Ethiopia. ... The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is an Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia that was part of the Coptic Church until it was granted its own Patriarch by Cyril VI, the Coptic Pope, in 1959. ...

External links

• The Crown Council of Ethiopia (http://www.ethiopiancrown.org/)
• Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen (http://www.angelfire.com/ny/ethiocrown/amha.html)