THE CAREER OF HAILE SELASSIE (1930 - 1974)

His Imperial majesty Emperor Haile Selassie, the lion of Judah was born on July 23, 1892 to Ras Makonnen, a cousin brother to Emperor Menelik II. He was born in the province of Harar and was the 225th active successor  of the Solomonic dynasty of the descendants  of King Solomon and Queen Makeda (Queen of Shebah). He went to school at an early age of five years and by 1899, he had started learning French and English.

Haile Selassie was a man of remarkable mental abilities and exceptional talent. This brought him to a stately appoint at an early age of fourteen years as  governor of arete  in Harar province where he was born. At the age of 24, he became the regent of the realm (empire) became Ra; Tafari. He also became the crown prince or the next Negus Negast or "King of Kings" after while Empress Zewditu (Zauditu), the daughter of Menelik II.

His real names  are however Ras Tafari Djiizmatch Makonnen. He was crowned emperor or November 2, 1930 with the most pompous style and gained the title of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie, meaning the "Power of the Trinity." Other titles adopted by Emperor Selassie included "King of Kings" and,"The conquering Lion of Judah."

ACHIEVEMENTS OF EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE

Emperor Selassie was deposed from his throne in 1936 when Ethiopia succumbed to Italian defeat. However, in 1941 a combined force of Indians, Ethiopians and British forces of the King; African  Rifle (KAR) that Ethiopians defeated  the Italian imperial administration. This enabled Haile Selassie to regain his throne. He was bestowed the title of "The Lion of the tribe of  Judah"  upon  his  return  to  Ethiopia.  Emperor  Haile  Selassie  scored  a  number  of achievements during his reign; hence, the Ethiopians referred to him as a man and a modernizer. His achievements included the following:

Reference questions:

a)  Assess the achievements of Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia

b) How successful was Emperor Haile Selassie's reign between 1941 and 1974?

c)  Examine the changes introduced by Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia from 1941

1.  Immediately after his coronation, Emperor Selassie introduced a constitutional decree that transformed Ethiopia  into  a constitutional  monarchy. The decree became  the country's first written constitution in more than 2000 years. The constitution combined both the country's customs  and the cultures of the modern civilised and educated nations. The principal aim of the constitution was to bring together the people of Ethiopia as one family, united and controlled by one law, and governed by one Emperor. Haile Selassie was also hopeful the new constitution would create a long period of peace and prosperity in his empire after a series of wars and raids among different tribes.

2.  In 1955, the emperor revised the constitution that created a national assembly comprising two sections, the upper and lower chambers.  The upper chamber  comprised mainly members of the Royal Imperial Family and close associates of the Emperor Selassie; while the lower chamber came to be known as the people's parliament. The revised constitution recognised voting rights of the Ethiopian people, which enabled them to vote for deputies (representatives) of the lower chamber  through the secret  ballot. This modern move towards political empowerment of the grassroots  masses was an expression of greater democracy.

3.  Emperor  Selassie successfully established national unity  in Ethiopia. Having a United Ethiopian Kingdom was Selassie's first major achievement as he believed that the power of unity would be protected by interests which bind Ethiopians permanently together. He was therefore able to do what other Great Ethiopian Emperors like Menelik II, Tewodros and Yohannes IV, only  dreamt about, "A unified Ethiopia." The struggle to create a unified modern state was begun by Emperor Menelik II. Though Emperor Menelik did not live long enough to see his efforts bear fruits, Haile Selassie recognised him by unveiling his statue during his coronation (crowning) ceremonies.

4.  He made a great contribution to his country by ensuring the total abolition of slavery and feudalism in the Ethiopian empire. Slavery and Feudalism had been strong age-old economic institutions encouraged by the previous emperors. Among the wars he fought in Ethiopia in his early years as a regent and later as Emperor were mostly against the Ethiopian provincial governors who opposed the Emperor's move to provide rights and freedoms to the poor communities in Ethiopia that were victims of oppression due to slavery and feudalism. He also established a department and a school for freed slaves to rehabilitate them from the inferiority complex of enslavement.

5.  Haile  Selassie  made  efforts  to  modernise  the  education  system  of  Ethiopia.  He established schools and colleges in Addis Ababa and other provincial cities of the empire. He sent Ethiopian students  to universities in England, Egypt, France, and Syria. This was aimed at ensuring modern planning of education in the country. Emperor Selassie also upgraded "Tafari Makonnen Secondary School" that he founded in 1925, into a modern education facility. He recruited French and English teachers as instructors in the school.

6.  Consequently, the ambition for higher education enabled the emperor to establish Haile Selassie I University. He even allowed a section of his palace in Addis Ababa to accommodate  some of the important departments of the university. Foreign professors and expatriates were recruited from France, Belgium, Britain and Sweden to uplift the standards  of university education in thecountry. This was a sign enough to show that Emperor Selassie was not a conservative monarchical leader.

7.  Emperor Selassie modernised the health sector of the Ethiopian monarchy. He upgraded the Bet Sayda, Hospital he founded earlier in 1924 into a modern healthy facility. The Emperor set up more hospitals in Addis Ababa and in other provincial cities of the empire. He trained Ethiopian technocrats  (experts) in the field of modern medicine, which was a quick radical move in the field of health. All this was due to his desire for improved health services for his people.

8.  Emperor Haile Selassie modernised the Ethiopian military. The process of modernising the army began in 1932, immediately after the defeat of the Gojjam rebellion. The modernisation of the army went on as fast as the Ethiopian finances allowed. Selassie recruited military  experts  from Russia,  Belgium  and  Sweden to  train Ethiopian army officers  in  modern  warfare technology. The French and  Germans  were employed to develop the Ethiopian air force. Emperor  Haile Selassie sent military cadres  to military schools in  Egypt, France and England. The Emperor  also introduced modern military schools to train Ethiopian military generals in modern military intelligence.

9.  The emperor was credited for having a liberal attitude towards religion. He had a belief that  religion  was  a  personal  matter  that  belonged  to  all  peoples  of Ethiopia.  To demonstrate  this, Emperor Selassie made imperial dominations to the Church and the Mosque alike. During his regime, he supported the Ethiopian Church to become completely independent from the control of the Alexandrian Patriarch Church.

10. Emperor Haile Selassie had great love for art. He devoted most of his money and time on cultural development especially in Amhara. He tried to support the established of cultural centers  in Addis Ababa and other provinces.Selassie was extremely fond of classical music and readings in the field of philosophy, history and region; little wonder that he supported  the integration of history, religion and MDD in the education curriculum of Ethiopia.

11. Selassie also emerged as a modernizer in the printing field. He made efforts to transform the Berhanenna Salam, or "Light and Peace," Printing Press into a modern printing press. He founded Press in 1923 during his days as a regent to Empress Zawditu. The press printed an Amharic newspaper  with the  title of "Berhanenna Salam." The newspaper published articles popularising the cause of reforming and modernising Ethiopia. A steady flow of literature, religious, and educational books in Amharic were published.

12. The  emperor  introduced  modern  political  structures  in  Ethiopia  where  modern  and important ministries like finance, internal and foreign affairs, health and communication were established. A council of ministers was also set up to strengthen administration of the empire. Haile Selassie put up a formidable civil service in Ethiopia. All these political developments elevated him to the position of a moderniser.

13. Haile Selassie introduced a school of aeration (piloting) where Ethiopia trained her own pilots, aircraft engineers and operators. By 1971, of all commercial airlines on the African continent, the Ethiopia airline was fully officered and ran by Africans.

14. The  emperor  introduced  a  five-year  development  plan  in  which  he  involved  foreign technocrats to assist Ethiopia in her development programs. These technocrats (experts) from European countries like France, Sweden, Belgium, and Britain, as well as from the USA were an example of a cardinal (very important) relationship, the emperor had with Europe.  Therefore,  the  ancient  empire  of Ethiopia  shifted  to  modernity  and  overall progress.

15. He had a keen interest  in all kinds  of sports  although  with a personal  bias  in tennis, horseback riding and hunting. He facilitated sports such that during his regime, Ethiopia producedoutstanding sportsmen and women including the legendary Abebe a successful long distance runner.

16. Haile Selassie is remembered for his attitude and care for the unfortunate and unprivileged.

Hardly a day could pass without him visiting hospitals, orphanages and institutions of the disabled. He put some  of his earnings in the disposal fund, which was charged with planning and administering institutions of the poor and the sick.

17. Emperor Haile Selassie had love for nature. Despite of his aging life, the Emperor found time to rest with his petties that included Horses, dogs and birds. He kept about thirteen lions in his Addis Ababa palace, together with many horses and parrots. This was an indication of modern care for nature during his private life.

18. During his regime, the emperor succeeded in securing and maintaining the Ethiopian seat in the League of Nations. Selassie had registered Ethiopia as a member of the league in 1924, during his reign as a regent to the Ethiopian throne. This enabled Ethiopia to interact with major European powers like France and Britain at the same level. It enabled Ethiopia to participate in influential decisions at the international level. Being part of the League of Nations also proved that Selassie had great desire for promote Ethiopian foreign affairs (relations). The League provided him with a valuable platform in his efforts to defend his country against the fascist-Italian attack which greatly threatened Ethiopian independence.

19. As a sign of concern to humanity, the leader of Ethiopia supported the opening up of the Ethiopian branch of the Red Cross. The emperor was impressed by the support given by the Red Cross to the victims of the Italian aggression and occupation of Ethiopia between 1935 and 1941. He therefore gave the body permanent premises in Ethiopia to continue with their humanitarian work towards Ethiopian people.

20. His international popularity led to the invitation of Ethiopia as one of the founder members of the United Nations organization in 1945. This made the Ethiopian empire not only popular but also a major contributor to international peace and security. Hence because of Emperor Haile Selassie, his country became  part of the determining powers of modern world affairs.

21. Haile Selassie promoted Pan Africanism, through emphasising continental unity in Africa.

His constructive influence was seen when he worked with Nkrumah of Ghana and Nasser of Egypt to reconcile the Casablanca and Monrovia groupings, leading to the formation of the Organisation of African  Unity (OAU). The OAU Charter was signed in Addis Ababa on May 25, 1963 under the chair of Haile Selassie. This was a major step towards bringing together different peoples of Africa.

22. Consequently, Emperor Haile Selassie proudly sheltered the permanent headquarters  of the OAU in Addis Ababa. This was a memorable symbol of the modern concept of Pan Africanism that called for unity on the African continent. This move by the emperor made Ethiopia become the center of African politics, replacing Accra of Ghana and Cairo of Egypt.

23. As  a modern nationalist,  Emperor Selassie  stood  firm behind  the cause  for complete freedom on the African continent. He worked closely with other African statesmen  to ensure total decolonisation of the African continent from European dominance. He sharply criticised the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in Zimbabwe and condemned the British government for failing to interfere and stop the Rhodesian rebellion that denied Africans freedom in their land.

24. Haile Selassie strongly supported peaceful settlement of interstate conflicts in Africa.  He advocated for peace talks and initiated several peace missions to settle disputes on the continent. He used his good office to mediate in the Sudan civil war leading to the Addis Ababa Peace Treaty signed in 1972 between the Sudanese government and the Anyanya Movement. The

Emperor also mediated in the border dispute between Sudan and Egypt, among others.

WEAKNESS OF EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE

1.  Much as Haile Selassie was regarded a modernizer, he did not live to the expectations of some Ethiopians many things went wrong and many factors failed him during his nation building for instance,

2.  The 1955-revised constitution did not fully democratise Ethiopia. The constitution gave the emperor  absolute powers  which turned him into a  despot  (dictator). Even  when the parliament  existed,  its  pressure  was  unnoticed. The emperor  never allowed political pluralism as it would subject him to criticism.

3.  Because the emperor came from the Amhara tribe, the tribe dominated all the affairs of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian masses were expected to speak Amharic as a national language during Haile Selassie's reign. Such exhibition of tribalism was also experienced in the political offices where nepotism became a formula for stately appointments. Many Amharas maintained sensitive positions in the Emperor's government.

4.  The emperor made Orthodox Christianity a state religion. Much of his religious attributes were directed to the Orthodox Church. This annoyed the Muslim community especially in the Eritrean province. The Muslims rallied behind revolutionists to bring about a fundamental change in Ethiopia by 1974.

5.  During the era of Emperor Selassie, Ethiopia remained backward. The industrial sector was diminishing. A lot of unemployment existed and Ethiopians experienced poor standards of living. This was partially due to the foreign domination in the economic activities. By the time of his overthrow, the major means of transport in Ethiopia was by horses.

6.  Consequently,  the  emperor  employed  foreigners  as  his  government  advisers.  He appointed a Swiss for legal issues, an English adviser for internal affairs and a Swede for foreign affairs. He also, had an American who gave him financial advice. This was in no doubt promotion of neo¬colonialism.

7.  The emperor put his effort to improve infrastructure on a hard rock. This was because the roads and railway lines remained inadequate while a few that were existing had broken down. Many areas  in  the countryside as  well as  some  towns  remained remote, not connected  or inaccessible. This was one reason  why Ethiopia remained economically backward.

8.  There was gross violation of human rights during Emperor Selassie's reign. The Ethiopians were deprived of freedom of worship, of speech, freedom of Assembly and of Association. This meant that the period Ethiopia was under Haile Selassie was dominated by undemocratic policies and political anarchy.

9.  The Emperor failed to reform the land tenure system. The land problem remained constant and affected many of the Ethiopian peasants.  The mostly affected people were residents of Southern Ethiopia who were landless and stayed under cruel landowners that charged them heavy land dues. Therefore, Ethiopia suffered from feudalism and serfdom during Selassie's reign.

10. Between 1972  and  1974,  drought  and  famine  befell  Ethiopia  and  affected  many of Ethiopian masses.  Among the  victims of these  catastrophes were the  Tigre, Oromo, Somali  and the Eritrean  community.  The government of Emperor Selassie  however did little to rescue the situation. Close to 200,000 masses lost their lives. This was one of the unrealistic treatments by Haile Selassie's government that led to its overthrow.

11. Political instabilities in Ethiopia at the time were attributed to Haile Selassie's government.

The emperor refused to recognise the internal self-government of Eritrea and the Ogaden claim bySomali residents. These continuously involved the Ethiopian community in war with  Eritrea and  the  Somalia respectively. Many Ethiopians  suffered  due  to  these instabilities, which led to unpopularity of the Emperor.

12. The Emperor was reluctant to improve on the conditions of the army. The soldiers were subjected to poor payments, poor living conditions, and nepotism during the process of promotion.  Raised grievances in the army, which prompted young army generals like Haile Mengistu to plot a coup in 1974.

13. The  Ethiopian  society  by  1970  was  facing  an  economic  crisis  characterised  by unemployment, scarcity of essentials commodities, economic stagnation and acute inflation. This left many Ethiopian starving; the workers received low payments while the fresh graduates could hardly be posted. This prompted many Ethiopians especially youths to go on strike, hence exposing the weakness of the emperor as he was ageing.

14. Emperor Selassie  failed  to curb down the high  levels  of illiteracy. By the time  he was overthrown the illiteracy rate was 90-95%, the highest in Africa. Many of the illiterates were unemployed. This increased the unpopularity of the emperor.

15. Biting poverty claimed majority of the Ethiopian population. Many of them could not afford to educate their children, cloth them or shelter them. It was hard for an Ethiopian during Haile Selassie's regime to meet the daily necessities of life, therefore, leading to poor standards of living.

16. There was too much labour exploitation in Ethiopia during the regime of Haile Selassie.

The working conditions were very poor in the country characterised by little pay because the  government  of Selassie  had  not  regulated  a  just  wage.  The workers were also exploited through heavy taxation.

17. Corruption  and  economic  mismanagement  ruined  the  government  of  Emperor  Haile Selassie. Many of his government officials squandered  public resources  to satisfy their selfish interests. They had little concern to the problems of the masses.  The emperor did not attempt to convict the corrupt government officials, which called for military intervention.