3. Tefari was born in 24th July 1892. From his
father Ras Mokonnin Woldie Michael and his
mother Yeshimebet Ali in Ajarsa Goro 30 km
apart from the Islamic holly land Harar .
Tefari train in French language till he
became Addis Ababa in his 10th year in
1902. he got the tittle ‘DEJ AZMACH ‘ in
Nov 18 1906 since he appointed as the
governor of ‘Gora Malate ‘. His father was
died when he was 14th in March 21st 1906.
4. Tefari was appointed as the
governor in 1907 in
Bosso/Begemdr, 1908 in sidamo
after two years he became the
ruler of Hararge.
In July 1911 he married the grand
daughter of king Michael. When he
was 19 his wife Menen born
TenagneWork for him.
5.
6. During the appointment of
empress Zewuditu, Dejazmach
Tefari got the tittle ‘RAS’ from the
empress. Until 1923 he was the
father of ASFAWOSSON,
ZENEBWORK, TSEHAY, MEKONNIN &
SAHLE SELASSIE.
9. After he become the 225th king of
solomonic dynasty he decided to
modernize the over all parts of
Ethiopia via a good governance &
democratic system. As he was the
first leader that who declared
constitution for Ethiopia in 19th
July 1931 he thought that :-
10. “Constitution is the only choice to
survive peacefully. Respects &
benefits of citizen a rise from the
acceptable law of the country .’’
11. The draft of constitution was
signed by 24 the highest
authorized leaders including the
emperor, patriarchs, knights,
princess & ministers. The
constitution was respects rights of
people, land lords & tenants
through fair equality.
12. Even if the constitution shows the
brightness of the emperor some
scholars oppose some articles from the
supreme law of the country.
For instant :-
article 2 :- tells about the people, the
land & the laws are belong to the king.
Article 3:- the power of the
government must in the hands of
solomonic dynasty.
13. Article 5:-since the king has the
divine power no one accuse him.
These the above & the other was
some of criticized articles of 1931
constitution. After many years the
author of the first constitution of
Ethiopia Bejrond Tekle Hawaryat
say’s
14. ‘During that time our interest was
not emphasizing the parliament
but we were interested imposing
the rule and regulation of the
government. We believe that each
ethnic society was represented
through there leaders, land lords,
knights and so on.’
15. The members of the upper & lower
chamber were not only rulers but
also scholars & others. For
instance Betiweded WeldieTsadik
Goshu & Blaten Geta Sahlu Tsedalu
were president & vice president of
upper chamber respectively.
16. In Nov 1st 1932 the new parliament
was opened. The parliament had
seven committee such as law
makers, foreign affairs, military,
budget, public service & the
committee that select the
committee members
17. For the sake of accountability the
parliament member was elected as
there income & property until
1955. In 1955 rewritten
constitution declared that each
person has the right to elect & to
be elected when he or she was 18
& 21 respectively
18. Until 1974 the emperor was
elected 5 time since 1958. the
election was took over 4 years.
Relatively he built the democratic
system for Africa & Ethiopia.
19. Over the next four decades, Haile
Selassie presided over a country
and government that was an
expression of his personal
authority. His reforms greatly
strengthened schools and the
police, and he instituted a new
constitution and centralized his
own power.
20.
21. In 1936 he was forced into exile after
Italy invaded Ethiopia. Haile Selassie
became the face of the resistance as
he went before the League of Nations
in Geneva for assistance, and
eventually secured the help of the
British in reclaiming his country and
reinstituting his powers as emperor in
1941.
22. Haile Selassie again moved to try to
modernize his country. In the face of a
wave of anti-colonialism sweeping
across Africa, he granted a new
constitution in 1955, one that outlined
equal rights for his citizens under the
law, but conversely did nothing to
diminish Haile Selassie's own powers.
23. In such an era, words like "pan-Africanism" and "civil
rights" were little more than esoteric philosophical
notions entertained by an enlightened few. That a country
as backward as Italy, whose widespread poverty prompted
the emigration of millions, would seek to devour a nation
like Ethiopia, was an irony too subtle to raise eyebrows
outside the most sophisticated intellectual circles. With
British backing, Haile Selassie returned to defeat the
Italian army which, in the event, the Allies never viewed
as much more than a nuisance. The British themselves
considered the Ethiopian campaign in its strategic context
--as a way to free the Red Sea from possible Axis control--
as much as the liberation of a sovereign nation. To the
Ethiopians, it was as much a moral victory as a military
one.
26. The infamous Walwal incident provided the
pretext Mussolini needed. Walwal was an
oasis in the Ogaden dessert, along the
boarder between Ethiopia and Italian
Somaliland. The Italians contrived a
boarder dispute and occupied Walwal in
1930. After a boarder clash in 1934,
Mussolini claimed that Italy had been
wronged and demanded satisfaction.
Ethiopia appealed to the League for
arbitration. But the League's response was
sluggish at best.
27. It was then when Emperor Haile Selassie,
complained to the League of Nations, calling on
the League to invoke its doctrine of collective
security. An attack on one member of the League
was supposed to be regarded as an attack on all
members. Indeed, it was this protection that had
inspired him to join the League in the first place
against the wishes of the hostile nobility who
wanted no part of a "foreigners" League. Still, like
many after the bloodletting of The Great War,
Selassie put his faith in the League to stop future
wars.
28. What was not foreseen however, was
Hitler's rapid rise to power in Germany. By
this time, Britain and France had still
hoped to contain Hitler. It was thought
that Mussolini's Italy could still serve as a
bulwark against German ambitions in
Austria, and thus did not want alienate
Mussolini over what they considered an
unimportant African state. French and
British attempts to ease the dispute were
often made at the expense of Ethiopian
interests.
29. On 29 September 1935, Emperor Selassie
announced that he had no choice but to mobilize
Ethiopia's large, but poorly equipped
army. Mussolini launched a full scale invasion on
3 October. The League responded by condemning
the invasion and imposing economic sanctions on
Italy. However the sanctions we not only weak,
but were not taken seriously by all members,
especially France and the United Kingdom. The
weakness of the League thus exposed, Ethiopia
was left alone. The invasion is regarded as one of
the most one-sided and brutal of the 20th
century. By early May Emperor Selassie
evacuated the capital city of Addis Ababa. On
May 7th, Italy officially annexed Ethiopia.
30. Haile Selassie addressed the League on 20 June
1936, the same time that the League officially
condemned the Italian invasion and
annexation. During his address he asked, "What
answer shall I take back to my people?" warning
further that, "It is us today, it will be you
tomorrow." The Emperor was toasted and hailed
around the world by anti-fascists, and Time
magazine named him "Man of the Year". Today his
prophetic words to the League of Nations are
often cited as a foreshadowing the Second World
War to the ill-prepared nations of the world.
32. In 1954, as the invitation of president
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the emperor of
Ethiopia Haile Selassie ‘king of kings
conquering lion of the tribe of Judah
elect of God’ made his first official
state visit to USA, a two month ago.
7000 miles tour of best known
international celebrities at the time,
remembered for his eloquent appeal
for collective security to the league of
Nations in 1936 when Mussolini’s -
33. Fascists invaded our for his sending
Ethiopian troops to join UN forces in
the Korean war in 1950-53rd. Ethiopia
enjoyed especial cachet in the united
state for having been. ‘First to be
freed ’from Axis occupation. For
promptly signing the declaration of
the UN founding conference at San
Francisco in 1945.
34.
35. Quotes
"Throughout history, it has been the
inaction of those who could have
acted; the indifference of those who
should have known better; the silence
of the voice of justice when it
mattered most; that has made it
possible for evil to triumph."
Haile Selassie I