Haile Selassie

The funeral of the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, took place in November 2000. A few days before the ceremony, the Ethiopian government released a statement condemning Selassie for the "brutality and extreme oppression" of his reign. Yet Rastafarians believe that Selassie was a god. Who was this man who still inspires such strong feelings a quarter century after his death?

Born in 1892, Tafari Makonnen was said to be a descendent of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. He was also the grandnephew of Emperor Menelik II. His father, Ras Makonnen, a general, was the emperor's trusted adviser, and Tafari too gained the emperor's respect. Before the age of 20 he married Menelik's granddaughter, Wayzaro Menen.

Menelik was succeeded by his grandson Lij Yasu, whose interest in Islam made him unpopular with Ethiopia's Christian majority. In 1916 Tafari deposed the new emperor and put Menelik's daughter Zauditu (also called Judith) on the throne instead. Tafari was given the title Ras, or "prince." At first he served as Zauditu's regent, but he became king in 1928 and emperor in 1930, after Zauditu's death. It was then that he took the name Haile Selassie, Amharic for "power of the Trinity."

Selassie abolished slavery and worked to modernize Ethiopia. In 1935 the country was invaded by Italy. Selassie personally led his troops into battle, but the Ethiopians were overwhelmed and eventually the emperor was forced to flee the country. His powerful appeal for help to the League of Nations attracted worldwide sympathy, but failed to spur the League to action. At last, in 1941, with the help of British, Selassie returned home and regained his throne.

Despite the emperor's efforts at social reform, Ethiopia remained an impoverished nation. In 1960 Selassie's own son, Asfa Wassan, led a revolt against him. The coup failed and Selassie forgave his son, although the other leaders were executed.

In 1974, Marxist revolutionaries took over the government and imprisoned Selassie. He died the following year under mysterious circumstances -- many believe he was murdered -- and was buried beneath a toilet. His body was exhumed in 1992 after the overthrow of the Marxist government and moved to a mausoleum in Addis Ababa.

Funds for the emperor's private funeral were raised by Emperor Haile Selassie I Memorial Foundation, which appealed for donations from Ethiopians at home and abroad, and refused contributions from non-Ethiopians. The funeral took place on November 5, 2000. After an outdoor memorial service, the emperor's coffin was interred in the royal family's vault in Holy Trinity Cathedral near the tomb of his wife, Empress Menen, who died in 1962. Selassie's only surviving child, 87-year-old Princess Tenagnework, attended the ceremony, as did many of his grandchildren.

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