Haile Selassie (1892 - 1975)

He was born Tafari Makonnen, and was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 and a definition in modern Ethiopian history. He sought to modernise Ethiopia, implementing progressive policies and centralising power. Selassie played a crucial role in international affairs, bringing Ethiopia into the League of Nations and the United Nations, and making Addis Ababa the headquarters of the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union). His reign saw Ethiopia’s resistance against Italian invasion during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and his subsequent exile and return. Despite his effort to modernise the country, his reign ended when he was overthrown by a military coup in 1974. Haile Selassie is also revered in the Rastafarian movement as a messianic figure.

 

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