Amha Selassie

On November 2, 1930 , when his father occupied the imperial throne of Ethiopia under the name Haile Selassie , Amha Selassie became the crown prince. Crown Prince Asfau Wassen was awarded the title of Meryd Azmach (Amh . መርዕድ, ), and he also received the specific ownership of the . In 1931, the crown prince married Wallet Israel Seyyum (1907-1989), the daughter of an Ethiopian aristocrat , the race Seyyum Mangashi (1887-1960) and the great-granddaughter of Emperor Johannes IV , who ruled from 1872 to 1889 . After the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936 , the Crown Prince and Princess went into exile with the rest of the imperial family. They broke up around 1938 , and officially divorced in 1941 .

In 1941, after the restoration of the power of the emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia, the crown prince returned to his homeland and participated in a campaign to expel Italian troops from the last Ethiopian city of Gondar . He briefly served as governor of the provinces of Begmidir and , while continuing to own the province of Wallo.

In 1945, Crown Prince Amha Selassie remarried to Abbe Medferiashvork (1922–2009), daughter of the dejazmach and Major General Ababa Demtyu . In the second marriage, the Crown Prince had three daughters and one son.

On the evening of December 13, 1960 , the commander of the imperial guard Mengistu Nyuay and his brother Girmame organized a coup and seized power in Ethiopia while the emperor Haile Selassie was on a visit to Brazil. As a result of the conversation, the rebel leaders detained Crown Prince Asfau Wassen in the imperial palace, and the next morning, having gained control in most of the capital, they forced the crown prince to read on the radio that he was accepting the imperial crown instead of his father and announcing state reforms. But the commander-in-chief of the regular army, Arate Medina Kassa, and the chief of staff, Major General Mared Mangesha, who controlled the Ethiopian army units and the Air Force, supported the legitimate emperor. Ethiopian Patriarch Abuna Basilios anathematized all those who collaborated with the rebels. December 15 began fighting in the capital. The rebels were expelled from Addis Ababa . Before the retreat, the rebels killed many members of the government and the nobility contained in the green living room of the palace. Among the dead were Ababa Aregai and Seyyum Mangasha . The emperor returned to Ethiopia and entered the capital on December 17 ^[1] . It was explained that the Crown Prince acted under duress, his worldview had long been considered significantly more liberal than that of his father, so they always suspected that he was a voluntary participant in the coup attempt. It was also believed that Medferiashvork Abeba, the wife of the Crown Prince, opposed the coup attempt.

In 1973, Crown Prince Asfau Wossen suffered an extensive stroke and was sent for treatment in Switzerland . He left with his wife and daughter. After a stroke, the crown prince could not walk freely, one side was paralyzed, the stroke also affected his speech. When Prince Asfau Wassen was dying, his son, Prince Jacob Zera, a student at Oxford University , was appointed Acting Crown Prince.

On September 12, 1974, the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie was removed from the throne and arrested by the military. Haile Selassie did not sign the abdication and did not renounce his rights to power. The military junta declared Crown Prince Asfau Wassen “king” instead of “emperor,” but he refused to recognize the overthrow of his father. When the new government killed 61 former imperial government officials, Crown Prince Asfau Wassen issued a statement broadcast on the BBC . The Crown Prince said that he refuses to recognize Ethiopia's declaration of him as a new monarch, instead of his father. He continued to use the title of Crown Prince in exile until April 1989 , when he assumed the title of Emperor of Ethiopia under the name Amha Selassie I.

On September 12, 1974, a military junta in Ethiopia overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie and announced that Crown Prince Asfau Wassen was declared king after his return from treatment in Geneva (Switzerland). Asfau Wassen was to rule as a constitutional monarch. After the overthrow of Haile Selassie, the Provisional Military Administrative Council (Derg) came to power in Ethiopia (1974-1987).

However, Crown Prince Asfau Wassen refused to recognize this declaration and did not return to Ethiopia. When he announced that he would visit the Embassy of Ethiopia in London , the ambassador asked the Ethiopian authorities to give instructions on whether he should accept him as king and head of state, or whether he should be accepted as crown prince visiting the UK. The Ethiopian government replied that the crown prince was to be adopted as a simple citizen of Ethiopia. In March 1975, revolutionaries abolished the monarchy in Ethiopia. The Crown Prince permanently settled in London , where already then several members of the imperial dynasty lived. Other members of the imperial dynasty who were still in Ethiopia were imprisoned during the revolution, including Haile Selassie and many other relatives. On August 27, 1975, the deposed emperor Haile Selassie died, and then in January 1976 the eldest daughter Amha Selassie died from her first marriage. Members of the imperial family remained in custody until 1988 (women) and 1989 (men).

In April 1989, Crown Prince Asfau Wassen was proclaimed “Emperor of Ethiopia” in exile, fleeing members of the Ethiopian community at his home in London. He took the throne name - Amha Selassie I. His wife also began to use the title "Empress". A year later, the emperor and empress in exile moved to , Virginia, USA , to be with Ethiopian emigrants near Washington, DC.

In 1991, after the fall of President Mengistu’s regime, Haile Mariam and the assumption of power in Ethiopia, the RDFEN Amha Selassie founded the monarchist movement Moa Anbessa to help restore the monarchy in Ethiopia and announced his desire to visit his homeland. However, after the exhumation of the remains of the emperor Haile Selassie, a dispute arose between the imperial dynasty and the new Ethiopian government over the funeral of the late monarch. The government refused to bury Haile Selassie with state honors, and as a result, the return of Amha Selassie was postponed indefinitely.

Amha Selassie died at the age of 82 on February 17, 1997 after a long illness in the US state of Virginia. He never recovered from a stroke that happened to him in 1973 . His body was delivered to his homeland in Ethiopia and was solemnly buried in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa . The funeral ceremony was led by the Patriarch of Abyssinian and the Catholicos of Ethiopia, Abuna Paul .

Amha Selassie has been honored with many awards, including:

National

•   Great Ribbon and Chain of the Order of Solomon (1930)
•   Great Ribbon of the Order of the Seal of Solomon
•   Great Ribbon of the Order of the Holy Trinity
•   Grand Ribbon of the Order of Menelik II
•   Grand Cross and Chain of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia
•   Haile Selassie I. War Medal

Foreign

•   Grand Cross Order of Leopold I ( Belgium , 1958)
•   Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross ( Brazil , July 4, 1958)
•   Order of the Elephant ( Denmark , January 15, 1970)
•   Chain of the Order of Muhammad Ali ( Egypt , 1932)
•   Chain of the Order of the Nile ( Egypt )
•   Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Star ( France , October 30, 1930)
•   Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (France, January 2, 1932 )
•   Grand Cross 1st degree Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ( Germany )
•   Order of the Star of Ghana ( Ghana , 1970)
•   Grand Cross of the Order of the Savior ( Greece , 1959)
•   Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus ( Italy , 1932)
•   Order of Chrysanthemum (Japan)
•   Great Ribbon of the Order of the Rising Sun ( Japan )
•   The Great Ribbon of the Order of the Star of Jordan ( Jordan , 1960)
•   Grand Ribbon of the National Order of Cedar ( Lebanon )
•   Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion ( Netherlands , November 7, 1953)
•   Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav ( Norway , 1956)
•   Grand Cross of the Order of the Renaissance of Poland ( Poland , October 30, 1930)
•   Order of the Star of Romania , 1st class ( Romania , 1967)
•   Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic ( Spain , April 27, 1971) ^[2]
•   Commander of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Vase ( Sweden , January 9, 1935)
•   Order of Serafimov ( Sweden , November 15, 1954)
•   The Great Ribbon of the Order of the White Elephant ( Thailand , 1970)
•   The Great Ribbon of the Order of the Crown of Thailand ( Thailand )
•   Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George ( Great Britain , 1958)
•   Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX ( Vatican , 1932)

Amha Selassie was awarded the following military ranks ^[3] :

• Field Marshal , Imperial Army of Ethiopia
• Fleet Admiral , Ethiopia's Imperial Navy
• Marshal , Imperial Air Force Ethiopia .

• The crown council of ethiopia
• Crown prince asfaw wossen