Haile Selassi I, Emperor of Ethiopia
Biography
Haile Selassie I (1892-1975), last emperor of Ethiopia (1930-74).
Born near Harer on July 23, 1892, and originally named Tafari Makonnen, Selassie
was a grandnephew of Emperor Menelik II. In 1916 he ousted Menelik's successor,
Lij Iyasu, replacing him with Zauditu, the old emperor's daughter, and made
himself regent. When Zauditu died in 1930, he succeeded her, taking the name
Haile Selassie I, which means "Might of the Trinity." His other titles included
Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, and King of Kings.
In 1931 Selassie granted his subjects a constitution. Although limited, it
established a Parliament and a court system; all formal power, however, remained
with the emperor. In 1935 the Italians invaded Ethiopia, and Selassie, after
attempting to resist them and making an impressive but vain plea for help before
the League of Nations, went into exile in England in May 1936. There he helped
the British plan the campaign that led to the liberation of Ethiopia and his
return to power in 1942. The emperor then began rebuilding his war-torn country.
Among his accomplishments were a major land reform (1942 and 1944), emancipation
of slaves (1942), and a revised and somewhat broadened constitution (1955) that
provided for universal suffrage.
An attempt to overthrow Selassie in 1960 was quickly aborted by loyalist
factions. By 1974, however, worsening conditions-corruption in government,
inflation, drought, starvation, and his hesitancy in dealing with these and
other emergencies-led to a revolt by the army and Selassie's removal from power.
He was formally deposed in September 1974 and died in Aděs Abeba on August 27,
1975.
The Italo-Ethiopian Wars
With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the Red Sea coast had
become increasingly attractive to the European powers as an object for
colonization. Italy focused its attention on Ethiopia, seizing Assab in 1872 and
Massawa in 1885. In 1889 Menelik and the Italians signed the Treaty of Wichale (Ucciali).
The treaty was one of friendship and cooperation, but the Amharic and Italian
versions of it differed, and the Italians claimed that it made all of Ethiopia
their protectorate. As a result, war broke out between Italy and Ethiopia in
1895, and Italian forces were decisively defeated at Adwa (Aduwa) the following
year. Italy was forced to recognize the independence of Ethiopia, and Menelik's
present-day boundaries. The successor of Menelik, Emperor Lij Iyasu (reigned
1913-1916), was deposed in favor of his aunt, crowned Empress Zauditu. Tafari
Makonnen, her cousin, was selected as heir apparent; he succeeded to the throne
as Haile Selassie I. In 1931 he granted Ethiopia its first constitution.
With the rise of the dictator Benito Mussolini, Italian designs toward Ethiopia
were revived, and in October 1935 Italy invaded the country (see Italy: The
Ethiopian Campaign). An attempt by the League of Nations to halt the conquest
failed. Aděs Abeba fell to the invaders, and in May 1936 Mussolini proclaimed
Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III emperor of Ethiopia. Haile Selassie was forced
to flee the country and take refuge in England, but he was restored to the
throne by British and Ethiopian forces in 1941.
The Later Reign of Haile Selassie
According to the terms of the Allied peace treaty with Italy, signed in 1947, agreement was to be reached within a year on the disposition of the former Italian colonies of Eritrea, Italian Somaliland, and Libya. In the absence of such an agreement, however, the decision was left to the United Nations (UN). The UN General Assembly voted for the federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia, to be completed by September 1952.
In 1955 Haile Selassie issued a revised constitution, which was a half-hearted attempt to move the country into the 20th century. For example, it gave certain limited powers to the Parliament. Progressive elements in the country, however, felt it was insufficient. After an unsuccessful attempt by members of the imperial guard to overthrow Haile Selassie in December 1960, the emperor increased government efforts toward economic development and social reform.
As the 1960s progressed, Haile Selassie became increasingly preoccupied with foreign affairs. In 1963 he played a leading role in the formation of the Organization of African Unity, which located its secretariat at Aděs Abeba. During the following year a long-standing border dispute between Ethiopia and the Somali Republic erupted into armed warfare. A truce, agreed to in March, established a demilitarized zone along the border, but hostilities recurred sporadically. Trouble also arose in 1965 with Sudan, which Ethiopia accused of abetting an Eritrean independence movement. The conflict intensified when 7000 Eritreans fled to Sudan in 1967 because of Ethiopian military reprisals against the secessionists. In December 1970 the government declared a state of siege in parts of Eritrea. The move failed, however, to end the guerrilla warfare.
In the early 1970s Haile Selassie continued to play a major role in international affairs, helping to mediate disputes between Senegal and Guinea, Tanzania and Uganda, and northern and southern Sudan. Nevertheless, he largely ignored urgent domestic problems: the great inequality in the distribution of wealth, rural underdevelopment, corruption in government, rampant inflation, unemployment, and a severe drought in the north from 1972 to 1975.
The Ethiopian Campaign
The event that upset European alignments and brought the Fascist and Nazi dictatorships into close accord was Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. Generally regarded as within the Italian sphere of influence, Ethiopia was bound to the Fascist state by many commercial and diplomatic pacts, but Italy sought every opportunity to integrate it into the Italian colonial empire. The Ethiopian war was preceded in 1935 by a Franco-Italian accord, by which Italy agreed to support French opposition to German rearmament in exchange for French concessions in Africa. Great Britain, regarding aggressive Italian expansion as a menace to British interests, vigorously opposed Mussolini's plan.
The Italian invasion of Ethiopia began on October 3. Four days later the Council of the League of Nations declared Italy guilty of violating its obligations under the League Covenant and imposed economic sanctions against the aggressor. The league's failure to enforce these sanctions, however, contributed largely to the Italian victory. On May 9, 1936, Mussolini formally annexed Ethiopia and proclaimed King Victor Emmanuel III emperor. Within a month, the country was incorporated, along with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, into a single colony, Italian East Africa. In October 1936, after Germany had recognized the Italian conquest, Hitler and Mussolini concluded an agreement providing for joint action in support of their common goals.
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