Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie was born Tafari
Makonnen in Ethiopia in 1892. He married Wayzaro Menen in 1911,
daughter of Emperor Menelik II. By becoming prince (Ras), Tafari became
the focus of the Christian majority’s approval over Menelik’s grandson,
Lij Yasu, because of his progressive nature and the latter’s unreliable
politics. He was named regent and heir to the throne in 1917, but had
to wait until the death of the Empress Zauditu to assume full kingship.
During the years of 1917-1928, Tafari traveled to such cities as Rome,
Paris, and London to become the first Ethiopian ruler to ever go
abroad. In November of 1930, Zaubitu died and Tafari was crowned
emperor, the 111th emperor in the succession of King Solomon. Upon this
occasion he took the name Haile Selassie, meaning “Might of the
Trinity.” This paper will focus on Selassie’s progressive politics and
attempts to modernize Ethiopia through technological advances and
membership in the world community. Relevant to these topics is
Ethiopia’s struggle with Italy in World War II, Selassie’s embracing of
the League of Nations, and his popularity and attention worldwide
because of his efforts towards humanitarianism and Ethiopian
sovereignty.
Ethiopia was a culturally and resourcefully rich land recognized
by the European colonial powers as sovereign from as early as 1900.
Selassie’s predecessor expanded his empire successfully in the 1880’s
and formed treaties with the Italians, who recognized the imperial
potential of northern Africa. Relations became strained, however, in
the 1890’s when Britain and Italy agreed that Ethiopia should fall
under Italian influence. Despite occasional conflicts, Ethiopia under
Menelik remained sovereign, and thus we see a stage set for the
leadership of Selassie: a free Ethiopia with Italian, British, and
French colonies nearby, and an Italian will to expand its territorial
claims when its power and opportunity arise. (Marcus, 52)
Well before Selassie’s crowning as negus (king), he began work
modernizing Ethiopia to rival that which he saw in Europe during his
time abroad. He took steps to improve legislation, bureaucracy,
government schooling, and health and social services in preparation for
his new reign. More importantly in a diplomatic focus, Selassie acted
to promote Ethiopian power and sovereignty and secure allies abroad. In
1919 Ethiopia applied for membership into the League of Nations but was
banned because its practice of slavery was still strong. By 1923,
working with the Empress Zauditu, the slave trade was abolished and
Ethiopia was unanimously accepted into the League. He further acted to
seek approval of other nations by emancipating existing slaves and
their children and created government bureaus to do so. Also prior to
his taking of power, Selassie promoted a twenty year treaty of
friendship with Italy in 1928 and established legislation in 1930 to
ban illegal sales of arms in Ethiopia, and to establish the
government’s right to procure arms for protection and internal unrest.
(Marcus, 60-73)
In 1931, upon assuming power, Selassie established the first
Ethiopian constitution, which aimed to re-focus governmental power from
many rases to his blood line solely. This move was effective in aiding
Ethiopia’s modernization through bureaucracy and solidarity, and forced
the many regional rases to either oppose him treasonably or join him
with their support. (Marcus, 98-100) By 1934, after several suppressed
revolts, all the major rases were either supporters or outside the
empires influence in the outer regions of Ethiopia. Much of Selassie’s
loyalty was fostered by the building of schools, universities, and
newspapers, as well as increased availability of electricity,
telephone, and public health services. The Bank of Ethiopia was also
founded in 1931 and introduced Ethiopian currency.
Though the changes in Ethiopia sponsored by Selassie and his
new progressive government seemed very promising, there lingered a new
threat to the growing country when Benito Mussolini came to power in
Italy in 1922. The north African colony of Eritrea, held by the
Italians, was harmonious in its African/Italian co-existence from the
1890’s until 1922, when Mussolini’s administration began to emphasize
the superiority of Italian inhabitants, and even enforced the
segregation of the population. As late as 1928, motions of peace were
made by Italy, but it seemed as though Mussolini wanted Eritrea only as
a strategic base for future conquest in Africa. (Marcus, 108) In
December 1934, there was an incident seemingly provoked by Italian
forces which involved an Ethiopian escort to the Welwel wells used by
desert nomads. The League of Nations exonerated both parties in the
battle in September 1935, and it seemed to Mussolini that he would not
be condemned for his future hostilities. (Marcus, 148-49) Italy invaded
Ethiopia one month later without declaring war; the League of Nations
condemned Italy as the aggressor, but no actions were taken. The
fighting persisted for seven months, and Ethiopia was pushed back quite
forcefully. Selassie found his forces unmatched militarily and was
shocked at the use of chemical weapons by Italy, and the lack of action
taken by the League of Nations. He was forced to exile on May 2 of
1936, a move which raised harsh criticism from many who were used to a
warrior emperor of Ethiopia. On June 30, Haile Selassie went to Geneva
to seek help from the League of Nations. He made a powerful speech in
which he addressed the lack of enforcement of the Italian arms embargo,
and quite effectively illustrated the consequences of the League’s
stifled actions: either there would exist collective security or
international lawlessness. (Selassie, Internet) His speech was taken
quite emotionally by audiences around the world, especially in America,
where he achieved much sympathy. Selassie succeeded in raising the
support of the United States and Russia, at least verbally, but Britain
and France still recognized the Italian possession of Ethiopia by
Italy.
While Selassie was in exile, the Italian forces established
new government and attempted to crush the continuing revolts by
massacres and segregation. In Britain for most of his exile, he
attempted to raise public support for the plight of his country, but
gained little attention until Italy entered the war on the side of
Germany in June 1940. After the entrance, Britain and Selassie worked
together to rally the remaining revolutionary forces in Ethiopia. He
proceeded to Khartoum in 1940 to be in closer contact with his troops
and British coordinators. With an army of British, South African,
African, and Ethiopian soldiers, Haile Selassie re-entered Addis Ababa
on May 5, 1941, but fighting continued on Ethiopian soil until January
1942. During the years of war, Selassie controlled internal affairs,
but with required British approval. Upon his return he, without
consulting Britain, appointed a seven member cabinet and a governor of
Addis Ababa. The British aided Ethiopia in training a new army with
advisers, which helped him substitute experienced administrators in
place of traditional nobility, but he rejected British help whenever
the reforms threatened his own personal control over his country. His
stubbornness and foresight to retaining power showed Selassie to be a
determined dictator, but certainly not without Ethiopia’s benefit in
mind. The modernization’s made by Britain concerning currency,
industrialization, and bureaucracy made Selassie see the major
importance in modernizing in order to survive. He attempted to secure
Eritrea as Ethiopian, but the decades of Italian influence imparted an
independent sense on the part of the Eritreans, and the British denied
his wishes.
When Selassie returned to power, he realized the necessity of
a dependable tax base and issued a flat tax based on the richness of
the land. Unfortunately, the nobles of several provinces battled the
tax and the path was lain for opposition to the newly re-established
government. Selassie backed down from his new tax brackets and issued a
flat tithe to all noble landowners who resisted, but this merely passed
the tax on to the tenants of the regions, who carried the entire burden
of taxation. Another huge reform made by Selassie was the 1948 change
in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He removed the responsibility of
appointment of the Church’s patriarch from Alexandria to himself, a
move which revolutionized the sixteen century old tradition.
After World War II, Selassie saw himself as a humble, but
emerging, world leader. (Prouty, 93) Ethiopia was a founding member of
the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. Haile
Selassie, after his aid from Britain wound down in 1953, sought and
developed an aid-based relationship with the United States, and later
sought and received aid from such diversified nations as Italy, China,
West Germany, Taiwan, Yugoslavia, Sweden, and the Soviet Union.
Within his country, Selassie favored political realism, and
attempted to make peace with the many Ethiopian factions- ethnic,
religious, and economic- through appeasement and compromise. Despite
his growing international stature, however, his internal influence
lacked major support which would, in the future, lead to problems in
his stability as a ruler. The emperor attempted to further strengthen
the national government by placing newly educated ministers with more
specific powers, establishing a central judiciary and self-appointing
its judges. He also proclaimed a new national constitution in 1955. The
constitution was enforced by a new, younger, foreign-educated staff,
who sympathized with Selassie’s reforms and were intellectually
supportive of his claims. It was also heavily influenced by Selassie’s
concern for international image, as many African countries were
thriving under colonial support and Ethiopia was still laying its claim
to Eritrea. (Prouty, 93) The new constitution emphasized Selassie’s
religious right to power, and while it promised several inherently
American rights (freedom of speech, assembly, and due process), the
Ethiopian population lacked the literacy and independence from local
nobility to really appreciate its declarations.
Selassie’s major changes in form of the Ethiopian government
promised huge reforms, and when these were realized to be slowly
obtained, a coup d’état occurred in Addis Ababa in December 1960, while
Selassie was abroad on one of his frequent diplomatic missions.
(Prouty, 40) While initially successful, the coup led by the Imperial
Bodyguard, police chief, and intellectual radicals lacked the public
support necessary, and fell upon the return of the emperor and his
assertion of the loyalty of the army and air force, as well as the
church. The coup’s failure did, however lead to the polarization of the
traditional and progressive factions, and the public awareness of the
need to improve the economic, social, and political position of the
population.
After the coup, Selassie tried to calm his opponents mostly
through land grants to officials, but with little social or political
reform. In 1966, a plan to reform the tax system with intent to destroy
the landowners grasp on the economy was drafted, but opposed vigorously
by the parliament, who were all landowners. The years prior to 1974
were filled with rising inflation, corruption, and famine, as well as
growing discontent by many of the organized urban groups and unions.
Selassie had organized his military so that each branch opposed each
other in class, benefits, or treatment in order to keep one from
becoming so powerful as to threaten his power. It was perceived that
the droughts and famines within the army and the public were
intentional, and that civil freedoms were increasingly disappearing.
Mutiny in the army branch of the military began on January 12, 1974,
and was followed by several provincial takeovers in February. In early
June, a group of about 120 military officers formed a group known as
the Derg (committee) who represented the military and worked behind
closed doors to gain power militarily. Although they claimed allegiance
to the emperor, they began arresting aristocracy and parliament members
who were associated with the old order. This group effectively removed
Selassie’s means of governing, as they had complete military control.
In July 1974, the Derg demanded a new constitution; when it was found
to be unsatisfactory to their “Ethiopia First” ideology, they proceeded
to undermine the emperor’s authority, and enjoyed much public support.
(Tareke, 204-13) The emperor’s estate and palace were nationalized and
in August, Selassie was directly accused of covering up famine of the
early 1970’s which killed hundreds of thousands of people. On September
12th, he was formally deposed and arrested and power was given to the
Derg, formally renamed the Provisional Military Administrative Council.
In August 1975, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie died under
questionable circumstances under house arrest, and was secretly buried.
(Prouty, 93) His early legacy of Ethiopian pride and sovereignty, had
transformed itself to a major struggle of the old versus the new
orders. The old order was effectively destroyed by 1977, and the Derg
began its new agenda of socialism in the Ethiopian government.
Works Cited:
1. Marcus, Harold G. Haile Selassie I: The Formative Years, 1892-1936. Los Angeles: UC Press, 1987.
2. Prouty, Chris, and Eugene Rosenfield. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1982.
3. Tareke, Gebru. Ethiopia: Power and Protest. Cambridge UP.
4. Haile Selassie’s Appeal to the League of Nations. Internet address: http://www.boomshaka.com/league.html. 29 April 1996.
This paper was written May 1, 1996, by Mike Cutri ([email protected])