Haile Selassie
"Ras Tafari" redirects here. For the religious movement that worships Haile Selassie, see Rastafari movement. Haile Selassie Haile Selassie Emperor of Ethiopia Reign 2 November 1930 – 12 September 1974 Coronation 2 November 1930 Predecessor Zewditu I Successor De jure Amha Selassie I (crowned in exile) De facto Aman Andom (as Chairman of the Derg) Spouse Empress Menen Issue Princess Romanework Princess Tenagnework Asfaw Wossen Princess Zenebework Princess Tsehai Prince Makonnen Prince Sahle Selassie Full name Tafari Makonnen Woldemikae House House of Solomon Father Ras Makonnen Woldemikael Gudessa Mother Woizero Yeshimebet Ali Abba Jifar Born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael (1892-07-23)23 July 1892 Ejersa Goro, Ethiopian Empire Died 27 August 1975(1975-08-27) (aged 83) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Burial Holy Trinity Cathedral Religion Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Styles of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia Reference style His Imperial Majesty Spoken style Your Imperial Majesty Alternative style Sire Haile Selassie (Ge'ez: ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ qädamawi haylä səllasé[nb 1]; Amharic: [ha.ɪlɜ sɨlːase][nb 2]  listen (help·info)) (23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He was a member of the Solomonic dynasty. At the League of Nations in 1936, the Emperor condemned the use of chemical weapons by Italy against his people during the Second Italo–Ethiopian War. His internationalist views led to Ethiopia's becoming a charter member of the United Nations, and his political thought and experience in promoting multilateralism and collective security have proved seminal and enduring. His suppression of rebellions among the landed aristocracy (the mesafint), which consistently opposed his reforms, as well as what some critics perceived to be Ethiopia's failure to modernize rapidly enough, earned him criticism among some contemporaries and historians. His regime was also criticized by human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, as autocratic and illiberal. Among the Rastafari movement, whose followers are estimated at between 600,000 and 1,000,000, Haile Selassie is revered as the returned messiah of the Bible, God incarnate. Beginning in Jamaica in the 1930s, the Rastafari movement perceives Haile Selassie as a messianic figure who will lead a future golden age of eternal peace, righteousness, and prosperity. Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian throughout his life. Haile Selassie is a defining figure in both Ethiopian and African history.