Editing Haile Selassie (section)

== Restoration ==

=== World War II and return ===
[[File:Addis Ababa-8e00855u.jpg|thumb|left|In 1942]]

British forces, which consisted primarily of Ethiopian-backed African and South African colonial troops under the "[[Gideon Force]]" of Colonel [[Orde Wingate]], coordinated the military effort to liberate Ethiopia. Selassie issued several imperial proclamations in this period, demonstrating that British military might and the Emperor's popular appeal could be joined in the concerted effort to liberate Ethiopia.<ref name="ofcan" />

On 18 January 1941, during the [[East African Campaign (World War II)|East African Campaign]], Selassie crossed the border between Sudan and Ethiopia, near the village of Um Iddla. The standard of the [[Lion of Judah]] was raised again. Two days later, he and a force of Ethiopian patriots joined with [[Gideon Force]], which was already in Ethiopia and preparing the way.<ref>Barker, A.J. (1936), ''The Rape of Ethiopia'', p. 156.</ref>

Italy was defeated by combined forces of the United Kingdom, the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], [[Free French Forces|Free France]], [[Free Belgian Forces|Free Belgium]], and [[Arbegnoch|Ethiopian partisans]]. On 5 May 1941, Selassie entered [[Addis Ababa]] and personally addressed the Ethiopian people, exactly five years after the fascist forces entered Addis Ababa. He urged them not to reciprocate the atrocities they had been subjected to.{{Sfn|Haile Selassie 1999|loc=vol. 2, p. 165}}

On 27 August 1942, Selassie confirmed the legal basis for the abolition of [[African slave trade|slavery]] that had been [[International law|illegally]] enacted by Italian occupying forces throughout the empire and imposed severe penalties, including capital punishment for slave trading.<ref>Hinks, Peter P.; McKivigan, John R. and Williams, R. Owen (2007). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_SeZrcBqt-YC Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703205917/https://books.google.com/books?id=_SeZrcBqt-YC |date=3 July 2023 }}'', Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 248. {{ISBN|0-313-33143-X}}.</ref><ref>Thomas P. Ofcansky, LaVerle Bennette Berry Ethiopia, a Country Study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress (1993) p. 110</ref> 

=== Postwar ===

After World War II, Ethiopia became a [[charter member]] of the United Nations. In 1948, the [[Ogaden]], a region disputed with both [[Italian Somaliland]] and [[British Somaliland]], was granted to Ethiopia.{{Sfn |Shinn | p = 201}} After the war, Italy was stripped of all her overseas possessions. On 2 December 1950, the [[United Nations General Assembly|UN General Assembly]] adopted Resolution 390 (V), which ceded the former Italian colony known as the federation of Eritrea to the Ethiopian Empire.<ref name=shinn141>[[#CITEREFShinn|Shinn]], pp. 140–141.</ref> Eritrea was to have its own constitution, which would provide for ethnic, linguistic, and cultural balance, while Ethiopia was to manage its finances, defense, and foreign policy.<ref name="shinn141" />

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Despite his centralisation policies that had been made before World War II, Selassie still found himself unable to push for all the programmes he wanted. In 1942, he attempted to institute a progressive tax scheme, but this failed due to opposition from the nobility, and only a flat tax was passed; in 1951, he agreed to reduce this as well.<ref name="eth">Ofcansky, Thomas P. and Berry, Laverle (2004). ''Ethiopia: A Country Study''. Kessinger Publishing. {{ISBN|1-4191-1857-9}}. pp. 63–64.</ref> Ethiopia was still "semi-feudal",<ref>Willcox Seidman, Ann (1990), ''Apartheid, Militarism, and the U.S. Southeast''. Africa World Press. {{ISBN|0-86543-151-5}}, p. 78.</ref> and the Emperor's attempts to alter its social and economic form by reforming its modes of taxation met with resistance from the nobility and clergy, which were eager to resume their privileges in the post-war era.<ref name="eth" /> Where Selassie actually did succeed in effecting new land taxes, the burdens were often still passed by the landowners onto the peasants.<ref name="eth" />

{{Multiple image
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| caption1          = With President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] on board the [[USS Quincy (CA-71)|USS ''Quincy'' (CA-71)]] in Egypt after the [[Yalta Conference]], 13 February 1945
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| caption2          = Selassie with Sir [[Winston Churchill]] at [[Downing Street]], 22 October 1954
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Between 1941 and 1959, Selassie worked to establish the [[autocephaly]] of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]].<ref name="copts">Watson, John H. (2000), ''Among the Copts''. Sussex Academic Press. {{ISBN|978-1-902210-56-8}}, p. 56.</ref> For centuries the Ethiopian Orthodox Church had been headed by the ''[[Abuna]]'', a bishop chosen by and answerable to the [[Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]]. In 1942 and 1945, Selassie applied to the [[Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church]] to establish the independence of Ethiopian bishops, and when his appeals were denied he threatened to sever relations with the Coptic Church of Alexandria.<ref name="copts" /> Finally, in 1959, [[Pope Kyrillos VI]] elevated the ''Abuna'' to Patriarch-Catholicos.<ref name="copts" /> The Ethiopian Church remained affiliated with the Alexandrian Church.<ref name="eth" /> In addition to these efforts, Selassie changed the Ethiopian church-state relationship by introducing taxation of church lands, and by restricting the legal privileges of the clergy, who had formerly been tried in their own courts for civil offenses.<ref name="eth" />

In 1956, on a state visit to India, he met with Indian leaders who supported [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]] against fascist Italy's [[Italian Ethiopia|illegal occupation]] during the 1935–1941 war against the [[Ethiopian Empire|country]]. Selassie also discussed with Indian prime minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] relating to Asian and African decolonisation, and cooperation between economic and education sectors.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kamalakaran|first=Ajay|date=28 March 2024|title=When an emperor came calling on a newly independent India to learn from its early successes|url=https://scroll.in/magazine/1065881/when-an-emperor-came-calling-on-a-newly-independent-india-to-learn-from-its-early-successes|work=[[Scroll.in]]|access-date=30 March 2024|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033416/https://scroll.in/magazine/1065881/when-an-emperor-came-calling-on-a-newly-independent-india-to-learn-from-its-early-successes|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1948, [[Harari people|Harari]] and Somali Muslims staged a significant rebellion against the empire in [[Harar]]. The state responded with a violent crackdown. Hundreds were arrested and the entire town of Harar was put under martial law.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shetler|first1=Jan|title=Building a 'City of Peace' through Intercommunal Association Muslim–Christian Relations in Harar, Ethiopia, 1887–2009|url=https://www.manchester.edu/docs/default-source/academics/by-major/philosophy-and-religious-studies/journal/volume-4-issue-1-fall-2010/building-a-city-of-peace-through-intercommunal-association.pdf?sfvrsn=62628962_2|website=Manchester University|access-date=3 July 2020|archive-date=3 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703102450/https://www.manchester.edu/docs/default-source/academics/by-major/philosophy-and-religious-studies/journal/volume-4-issue-1-fall-2010/building-a-city-of-peace-through-intercommunal-association.pdf?sfvrsn=62628962_2|url-status=live}}</ref> The government also seized many assets and estates belonging to the people.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Muehlenbeck|first1=Philip|title=Religion and the Cold War: A Global Perspective|publisher=Vanderbilt University Press|page=147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytEC2bOstFUC&q=kulub+harar&pg=PA147|isbn=978-0-8265-1852-1|year=2012|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033416/https://books.google.com/books?id=ytEC2bOstFUC&q=kulub+harar&pg=PA147#v=snippet&q=kulub%20harar&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ibrahim|first1=Abadir|title=The Role of Civil Society in Africa's Quest for Democratisation|publisher=Springer|page=134|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GaCwDQAAQBAJ&q=harar+under+house+arrest&pg=PA134|isbn=978-3-319-18383-1|date=8 December 2016|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033423/https://books.google.com/books?id=GaCwDQAAQBAJ&q=harar+under+house+arrest&pg=PA134#v=snippet&q=harar%20under%20house%20arrest&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> This led to a massive exodus of Hararis from the region.<ref name="Perspectives" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Vaughan|first1=Sarah|title=Ethnicity and Power in Ethiopia|publisher=The University of Edinburgh|page=235|url=https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/id/1299/vaughanphd.pdf/|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/id/1299/vaughanphd.pdf/|archive-date=9 October 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> Harari dissatisfaction stemmed from the fact that they had never received autonomy for Harar, which was promised by [[Menelik II]] after his conquest of the kingdom. The promise was eroded by successive [[Amhara people|Amhara]] governors of Harar and infringed by Selassie himself.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Endris Ali|first1=Mohammed|author2=Gonca Bayraktar Durgun|title=The Ethiopian Revolution : Perceived and Actual Making Factors vis-à-vis the Framing Process|publisher=Dergi Park|page=312|url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1386532|archive-date=28 August 2024|access-date=28 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240828014138/https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1386532|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Kulub|date=26 April 2024|publisher=Encyclopedia Aethiopica|page=450|isbn=978-3-447-05607-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l4WUdKWGcYsC}}</ref> According to historians Tim Carmicheal and Roman Loimeier, Selassie was directly involved in the suppression of the Harari movement that formed as a response to the crackdown on Hararis who collaborated with the Italians during their occupation of Ethiopia from 1935 to 1941.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Carmichael|first1=Tim|title=Political Culture in Ethiopia's Provincial Administration: Haile Sellassie, Blata Ayele Gebre and the (Hareri) Kulub Movement of 1948|journal=Personality and Political Culture in Modern Africa: Studies Presented to Professor Harold G Marcus, ed. By M. Page, S. Beswick, T. Carmichael and J. Spaulding|date=January 1998|publisher=Boston University African Studies Center Press|pages=198–212|url=https://www.academia.edu/2285540|access-date=6 March 2019|archive-date=22 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222200629/https://www.academia.edu/2285540|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Loimeier|first1=Roman|title=Islamic Reform in Twentieth-Century Africa|date=2016|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|location=UK|isbn=978-1-4744-1491-3|page=215|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDZYDwAAQBAJ&dq=kulub+harar+somali&pg=PT215|access-date=19 March 2023|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405042200/https://books.google.com/books?id=IDZYDwAAQBAJ&dq=kulub+harar+somali&pg=PT215|url-status=live}}</ref>

In keeping with the principle of [[collective security]], for which he was an outspoken proponent, Selassie sent Ethiopian armed forces to take part in the [[Korean War]] to fight in support of the [[United Nations Command]]. The elite [[Kagnew Battalion]], under General Mulugueta Bulli, was attached to the American [[7th Infantry Division (United States)|7th Infantry Division]], and fought with distinction in a number of major engagements including the [[Battle of Pork Chop Hill]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Marshall, S.L.A.|title=Pork Chop Hill : the American fighting man in action Korea, Spring, 1953|date=1986|publisher=Battery Press|isbn=0-89839-090-7|location=Nashville|page=164|oclc=13714497}}</ref> In a 1954 speech, Selassie spoke of Ethiopian participation in the [[Korean War]] as a redemption of the principles of collective security.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 23, 1951 |title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, The Near East and Africa, Volume V |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951v05/d704 |website=[[United States Department of State]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 25, 2012 |title=An Ethiopian hero of the Korean War |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19639459 |work=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

=== Second constitutional period ===

During the celebrations of his Silver Jubilee in November 1955, Selassie introduced a [[1955 Constitution of Ethiopia|revised constitution]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.country-studies.com/ethiopia/administrative-change-and-the-1955-constitution.html|title=Ethiopia Administrative Change and the 1955 Constitution|publisher=Country studies|access-date=12 September 2010|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006140802/http://www.country-studies.com/ethiopia/administrative-change-and-the-1955-constitution.html|url-status=live}}</ref> whereby he retained effective power, while extending political participation to the people by allowing the lower house of parliament to become an elected body. Party politics were not provided for. Modern educational methods were more widely spread throughout the [[Ethiopian Empire|Empire]].<ref name="Lewis 1956 257–268">{{Cite journal|last=Lewis|first=William H.|date=1956|title=The Ethiopian Empire: Progress and Problems|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322824|journal=Middle East Journal|volume=10|issue=3|pages=257–268|issn=0026-3141|jstor=4322824|access-date=23 March 2024|archive-date=9 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209113310/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322824|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="teferra">{{cite book|editor-first=Damtew|editor-last=Teferra|editor2=Philip G. Altbach|title=African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook|publisher=Indiana University Press|date=2003|pages=316–325}}</ref><ref>Keller, ''Revolutionary Ethiopia'', p. 87.</ref>

The country embarked on a development scheme and plans for modernisation, tempered by Ethiopian traditions, and within the framework of the state's ancient monarchical structure. Selassie compromised, when practical, with the traditionalists in the nobility and church. He also tried to improve relations between the state and ethnic groups, and granted autonomy to [[Afar people|Afar]] lands that were difficult to control. Still, his reforms to end feudalism were slow and weakened by the compromises he made with the entrenched aristocracy. The revised constitution of 1955 has been criticised for reasserting "the indisputable power of the monarch" and maintaining the relative powerlessness of the peasants.<ref name= mammo>Mammo, Tirfe (1999). ''The Paradox of Africa's Poverty: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge.'' The Red Sea Press. {{ISBN|1-56902-049-3}}, p. 103.</ref>

[[File:Soviet Union Ethiopia.png|thumb|240x240px|Haile Selassie with [[Nikita Khrushchev]], Moscow, 1959]]

Selassie also maintained cordial relations with the government of the United Kingdom through charitable gestures. He sent aid to the British government in 1947 when Britain was affected by heavy flooding. His letter to Lord Meork, National Distress Fund, London said, "even though We are busy of helping our people who didn't recover from the crises of the war, We heard that your fertile and beautiful country is devastated by the unusually heavy rain, and your request for aid. Therefore, We are sending small amount of money, about one thousand pounds through our embassy to show our sympathy and cooperation."<ref>''Addis Zemen'' newspaper, 3 October 1947.</ref>

==== 1958 famine of Tigray ====

In the summer of 1958, a widespread [[1958 Tigray famine|famine in the Tigray province]] of northern Ethiopia was already two years old yet people in Addis Ababa knew hardly anything about it. When significant reports of death finally reached the Ministry of Interior in September 1959 the central government immediately disclosed the information to the public and began asking for contributions. The Emperor personally donated 2,000 tons of relief grain, the U.S. sent 32,000 tons, which was distributed between Eritrea and Tigray, and money for aid was raised throughout the country but it is estimated that approximately 100,000 people had died before the crisis ended in August 1961. The causes of the famine were attributed to drought, locusts, hailstone and epidemics of small-pox, typhus, measles and malaria.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bahru Zewde, [London: James Currey, 1991], p. 196. "A History of Modern Ethiopia: 1855–1974"|isbn=0-8214-0972-7|last1=Zewde|first1=Bahru|year=1991|publisher=J. Currey}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/peter_gill_famine_and_foreigners_ethiopia_sincebook4you.pdf|first=Peter|last=Gill|pages=26 & 27|title=Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2010|access-date=4 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516155623/http://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/peter_gill_famine_and_foreigners_ethiopia_sincebook4you.pdf|archive-date=16 May 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Rural vulnerability pp. 35-36">{{cite book|last1=Wolde Mariam|first1=Mesfin|title=Rural vulnerability to famine in Ethiopia: 1958–1977|date=1986|publisher=Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd.|location=Great Britain|isbn=0-946688-03-6|pages=35–36}}</ref>

=== Attempted coup and era of decolonization ===<!--several paragraphs without references-->
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Selassie contributed Ethiopian troops to the [[United Nations Operation in the Congo]] peacekeeping force during the 1960 [[Congo Crisis]], per [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 143]]. 

On 13 December 1960, while Selassie was on a state visit to Brazil, the [[Kebur Zabagna|imperial guard]] staged [[1960 Ethiopian coup|an unsuccessful coup]], briefly proclaiming Selassie's elder son, [[Amha Selassie|Asfa Wossen]], as emperor. The regular army and police forces crushed the coup d'état. The coup plotters lacked broad popular support, were denounced by the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]], and was unpopular with the military and police. Nonetheless, the effort had support among students and the educated classes.<ref name="zewde">Zewde, Bahru (2001), ''A History of Modern Ethiopia''. Oxford: James Currey. {{ISBN|0-85255-786-8}}, pp. 220–226.</ref> The attempt has been characterised as a pivotal moment in Ethiopian history, the point at which Ethiopians "for the first time questioned the power of the king to rule without the people's consent".<ref name="mammo100">{{cite book|last=Mammo|first=Tirfe|year=1999|title=The Paradox of Africa's Poverty: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge|publisher=The Red Sea Press|isbn=1-56902-049-3|page=100}}</ref> Student populations began to empathise with the peasantry and poor and advocate on their behalf.<ref name="mammo100" /> The coup spurred Selassie to accelerate reform, manifested as land grants to military and police officials and political groups.<ref>Keller, ''Revolutionary Ethiopia'', p. 133</ref>

{{Multiple image
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Selassie continued to be a staunch ally of the West, while pursuing a firm policy of [[decolonisation]] in Africa, which was still largely under European colonial rule. The United Nations conducted a lengthy inquiry regarding Eritrea's status, with the superpowers each vying for a stake in the state's future. Britain, the administrator at the time, suggested Eritrea's partition between Sudan and Ethiopia, separating Christians and Muslims. The idea was instantly rejected by Eritrean political parties, as well as the UN.<ref>{{Cite news|title=HRW Report|page=355|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/e0uspol.pdf|access-date=5 December 2023|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033415/https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/e0uspol.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Henze, ''Layers of Time'', p. 258</ref>

==== Eritrean annexation and uprising ====

A UN plebiscite voted to have Eritrea [[federation|federated]] with Ethiopia, later stipulated on 2 December 1950 in resolution 390 (V). Eritrea would have its own parliament and administration and would be represented in what had been the Ethiopian parliament and would become the federal parliament.<ref name="UN_GA_res-5">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/5/ares5.htm|title=General Assembly Resolutions 5th Session|publisher=United Nations|access-date=16 October 2007|archive-date=25 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525180549/http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/5/ares5.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Selassie rejected European attempts to draft a separate constitution under which Eritrea would be governed, and wanted his own 1955 constitution protecting families to apply in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 1961 the 30-year [[Eritrean War for Independence]] began, followed by the dissolution of the federation and shutting down of Eritrea's parliament.<ref>Hickman Cutter, Charles (2001). ''Africa, 2001''. Stryker-Post Publications. p. 177. {{ISBN|978-1-887985-31-4}}. <q> When Emperor Haile Selassie unilaterally dissolved the Eritrean parliament and annexed the country in 1962...</q></ref><ref>Gebremedhin, Tesfa G. (2002). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=t-6aHSOI_ukC&pg=PA4 Women, Tradition and Development: A Case Study of Eritrea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033418/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Women_Tradition_and_Development/t-6aHSOI_ukC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA4&printsec=frontcover |date=6 July 2024 }}''. Red Sea Press. pp. 4–5. {{ISBN|978-1-56902-153-8}}. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230918085135/https://books.google.com/books?id=t-6aHSOI_ukC&pg=PA4 Archived] from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2021.</ref>

[[File:Selassie and Nasser, 1963.jpg|thumb|With Egyptian president [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] in Addis Abeba for the [[Organisation of African Unity]] summit, 1963]]

In September 1961, Selassie attended the [[1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement|Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement]] in [[Belgrade]], [[FPR Yugoslavia]]. This is considered to be the founding conference of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]].<ref>James Mark; Yakov Feygin (2020). "The Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Alternative Vision of a Global Economy 1950s–1980s". In James Mark; Artemy M. Kalinovsky; Steffi Margus (eds.). ''Alternative Globalizations: Eastern Europe and the Postcolonial World''. [[Indiana University Press]]. pp. 35–58. {{ISBN|978-0-253-04650-5}}.</ref>

In 1961, tensions between independence-minded Eritreans and Ethiopian forces culminated in the [[Eritrean War of Independence]]. Eritrea's elected parliament voted to become the fourteenth province of Ethiopia in 1962.<ref>Haile, Semere (1987), "The Origins and Demise of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Federation", ''Issue: A Journal of Opinion'', 15, pp. 9–17.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Ayele|first1=Negussay|title=In Search of the Historical DNA of the Eritrean Problem: Review Article on the Eritrean Affair (1941–1963) by Ambassador Zewde Retta|url=http://www.ethiopians.com/NA_Review_EritreanAffair_ZR.htm|website=Ethiopians.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102051224/http://www.ethiopians.com/NA_Review_EritreanAffair_ZR.htm|access-date=26 July 2022|archive-date=2 November 2021}}</ref> The war would continue for 30 years; first Selassie, then the Soviet-backed junta that succeeded him, attempted to retain Eritrea by force.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ethiopia-Eritrea: A Troubled Relationship|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/eritrea/overview.htm?noredirect=on|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025108/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/eritrea/overview.htm?noredirect=on|archive-date=26 March 2023|access-date=6 June 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

{{Wikisource|Haile Selassie's address to the United Nations, 1963}}

In 1963, Selassie presided over the formation of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU), the precursor of the continent-wide [[African Union]] (AU). The new organisation would establish its headquarters in [[Addis Ababa]]. In May of that year, Selassie was elected as the OAU's first official chairperson, a rotating seat. Along with [[Modibo Keïta]] of Mali, the Ethiopian leader would later help successfully negotiate the Bamako Accords, which brought an end to the border conflict between Morocco and Algeria. In 1964, Selassie would initiate the concept of the [[United States of Africa]], a proposition later taken up by [[Muammar Gaddafi]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=9 October 2015|title=The Last Emperor – The Fall of Haile Selassie|url=https://adst.org/2015/10/the-last-emperor-the-fall-of-haile-selassie/|website=ADST|access-date=26 February 2024|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033928/https://adst.org/2015/10/the-last-emperor-the-fall-of-haile-selassie/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jimmatimes.com/article/Latest_News/Latest_News/Ethiopia_New_African_un1on_Building_and_Kwame_Statue_Video/34060|title=Ethiopia: New African Union Building and Kwame Statue|format=Video|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615065602/http://jimmatimes.com/article/Latest_News/Latest_News/Ethiopia_New_African_un1on_Building_and_Kwame_Statue_Video/34060|archive-date=15 June 2012}}. ''Jimma Times''. 29 January 2012</ref>

In 1963, a [[Bale revolt|revolt in Bale]] occurred, where peasant rioters whom were discouraged by the Ethiopian taxation headed by Prime Minister [[Aklilu Habte-Wold]] later turned into an insurgency.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nicolas|first1=Gildas|year=1972|title=Protest in Ethiopia|url=http://escholarship.org/uc/item/18d681jd#page-15|url-status=live|journal=Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies|publisher=UCLA|volume=2|issue=3|page=55|doi=10.5070/F723016603|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226121243/http://escholarship.org/uc/item/18d681jd#page-15|archive-date=26 December 2014|access-date=26 December 2014|doi-access=free}}</ref> This caused a semi-civil war with [[terrorist]] activities carried out by rebels supported by [[Western Somali Liberation Front|Somalia]] which later forced the Ethiopian government to declare a [[state of emergency]].<ref name="De Waal-1991">{{Cite book|last=De Waal|first=Alexander|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/24504262|title=Evil days : thirty years of war and famine in Ethiopia.|date=1991|publisher=Human Rights Watch|others=Human Rights Watch|isbn=1-56432-038-3|location=New York|pages=66–68|oclc=24504262|access-date=17 March 2024|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607061136/https://www.worldcat.org/title/evil-days-thirty-years-of-war-and-famine-in-ethiopia/oclc/24504262|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Beken|first=Christophe van der|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/769473477|title=Unity in diversity : federalism as a mechanism to accommodate ethnic diversity : the case of Ethiopia|date=2012|publisher=LIT|isbn=978-3-643-90172-9|location=Berlin|pages=75–76|oclc=769473477|access-date=17 March 2024|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033929/https://search.worldcat.org/title/769473477|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="American Affairs">{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.calcutta.07200|title=American Affairs, Vol. 82, Issue no. January, April, July, October|page=516}}</ref> The Emperor's armed forces led by [[Government of the Ethiopian Empire|Prime Minister Aklilu's cabinet]] with the support of the United Kingdom and the United States were able to end the revolt after over six years of insurgency. This assured weakened diplomatic ties with Siad Barre's Somalia.<ref name="De Waal-1991"/><ref name="American Affairs"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Briggs|first=Philip|url=http://archive.org/details/ethiopiabradttra0000brig_l3i9|title=Ethiopia : the Bradt travel guide|date=2015|publisher=Chalfont St. Peter : Bradt Travel Guides; Guilford, Connecticut : Globe Pequot Press|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-1-84162-922-3|page=487}}</ref>

==== Reform efforts and relations with the West ====

On 4 October 1963, Selassie addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations.<ref>Brewer, Sam Pope (5 October 1963), [https://www.nytimes.com/1963/10/05/archives/selassie-at-un-recalls-1936-plea-to-league-says-equality-of-all-is.html Selassie, at U.N., Recalls 1936 Plea to League] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722190426/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/10/05/archives/selassie-at-un-recalls-1936-plea-to-league-says-equality-of-all-is.html |date=22 July 2018 }}, ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.unmultimedia.org/s/photo/detail/844/0084497.html|work=Emperor of Ethiopia Addresses General Assembly|title=Photo # 84497|publisher=United Nations|place=New York|date=4 October 1963|access-date=30 August 2013|archive-date=8 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108145709/http://www.unmultimedia.org/s/photo/detail/844/0084497.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[s:Selassie's Address to the United Nations|Haile Selassie's Address to the United Nations]].</ref>

[[File:Haile-Selassie attending JFK's funeral.jpg|thumb|220x220px|At the [[state funeral of John F. Kennedy]], 25 November 1963|left]]

On 25 November 1963, the Emperor traveled to Washington, D.C., and attended the [[State funeral of John F. Kennedy|state funeral of assassinated U.S. president John F. Kennedy]]. He was the only African head of state to attend the funeral.<ref name="Wamu 88.5">{{cite web|last1=Schwartz|first1=Matthew S.|title=Why is There Such a Large Ethiopian Population in the Washington Region?|url=https://wamu.org/story/16/04/21/how_did_the_dc_region_become_home_to_the_largest_population_of_ethiopians_in_the_us/|website=Wamu 88.5 American University Radio|access-date=14 March 2022|archive-date=24 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324055728/https://wamu.org/story/16/04/21/how_did_the_dc_region_become_home_to_the_largest_population_of_ethiopians_in_the_us/|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, he was the only one of the three prominent world leaders that would have another meeting with the new president, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], in Washington during his presidency; he met Johnson again during an informal visit to the United States in 1967.<ref name="LBJHeadsOfState">{{cite web|url=https://www.lbjlibrary.org/life-and-legacy/lbjs-administration/head-of-state-visits|title=Head of State Visits|access-date=8 November 2022|work=LBJ Presidential Library|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033929/https://www.lbjlibrary.org/life-and-legacy/lbjs-administration/head-of-state-visits|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Johnson and Haile Selassie Confer|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 February 1967|page=2|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Johnson Hails Selassie As an Ignored Prophet|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=14 February 1967|page=2}}</ref>

[[File:His and Her Majesties together viewing Haile Selassie I stadium in Addis Ababa.png|thumb|Selassie with Queen [[Elizabeth II]] in Addis Ababa on her 1965 state visit to Ethiopia]]

In 1966, Selassie attempted to replace the historical tax system with a single progressive income tax, which would weaken the nobility who had avoided paying most of their taxes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schwab|first1=Peter|title=The Tax System of Ethiopia|journal=The American Journal of Economics and Sociology|date=January 1970|volume=29|issue=1|pages=77–88|jstor=3485226|doi=10.1111/j.1536-7150.1970.tb03120.x}}</ref> This law led to a revolt in Gojjam, which was repressed although enforcement of the tax was abandoned. Having achieved its design in undermining the tax, the revolt encouraged other landowners to defy Selassie.<ref>Zahru Zewde, ''A History of Modern Ethiopia'', second edition (London: James Currey, 2001), pp. 216ff, and Gebru Tareke, ''Ethiopia'', pp. 160–193.</ref> In October that year, Selassie had a four-day visit to the Kingdom of Jordan hosted by [[King Hussein]]. During this trip, Selassie visited Jerusalem and the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jordan: Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia Arrives in Amman to Start Official Visit|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/|access-date=15 September 2023|website=British Pathé|language=en-GB|archive-date=28 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228134836/https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Emperor Haile Selassie I with President LBJ.jpg|thumb|During a visit to Washington, D.C. with President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], 1967]]
While he had assured Ethiopia's participation in UN-approved collective security operations, including Korea and Congo, Selassie drew a distinction between it and the intervention in [[Indochina]], deploring it as needless suffering and calling for the [[Vietnam War]] to end. At the same time, he remained open toward the United States, commending it for making progress with African Americans' Civil Rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s and visiting the US several times during these years.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 April 1965|title=The War in Vietnam|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp67b00446r000300150023-8|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|access-date=23 March 2024|archive-date=23 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323174509/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp67b00446r000300150023-8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Metaferia|first=Getachew|date=1995|title=The Ethiopian Connection to the Pan-African Movement|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45197577|journal=Journal of Third World Studies|volume=12|issue=2|pages=300–325|jstor=45197577|access-date=23 March 2024|archive-date=20 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120171147/https://www.jstor.org/stable/45197577|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Brewer|first=Sam Pope|date=17 February 1967|title=Ethiopia Willing to be Mediator; Haile Selassie Says Here He Would Lead Peace Effort|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/02/17/archives/ethiopia-willing-to-be-mediator-haile-selassie-says-here-he-would.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=24 March 2024|archive-date=24 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324170517/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/02/17/archives/ethiopia-willing-to-be-mediator-haile-selassie-says-here-he-would.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1967, he visited [[Montréal]], Canada, to open the Ethiopian Pavilion at the [[Expo '67]] World's Fair where he received great acclaim among other World leaders there for the occasion.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20120314130919/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/expo/05330204_e.html Special Guests]". ''Expo 67: Man and His World''. Ottawa: [[Library and Archives Canada]]. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2012.</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|date=14 April 1967|title=Canada: Strength for the Centennial|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,836954,00.html|magazine=[[TIME]]|access-date=24 March 2024|archive-date=24 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324170517/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,836954,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Coyle|first=Jim|date=6 May 2017|title=Canada 150: When the impossible dream came true at Expo 67|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/canada-150-when-the-impossible-dream-came-true-at-expo-67/article_44ff5067-c4f4-529e-98c5-a2a728f1c40e.html|work=[[Toronto Star]]|access-date=24 March 2024|archive-date=24 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324170518/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/canada-150-when-the-impossible-dream-came-true-at-expo-67/article_44ff5067-c4f4-529e-98c5-a2a728f1c40e.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Later reign ===

As the 1970s began, in contrast to most monarchs at the era, Selassie's political influence continued to be of great significance; he was said to utilize as many as four spy agencies, all which concurrently spied on each other as well as civilian and military circles of the nation. He was the only person who knew the 'true' scope of things in Ethiopia.<ref>{{Cite news|date=14 October 2015|title=The Last Emperor – The Fall of Haile Selassie|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-last-emperor-the-fal_b_8296134|work=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=17 February 2024|archive-date=17 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217011545/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-last-emperor-the-fal_b_8296134|url-status=live}}</ref>

Student unrest became a regular feature of Ethiopian life in the 1960s and 1970s. [[Communism]] took root among the Ethiopian intelligentsia, particularly those who had studied abroad and been exposed to radical and left-wing sentiments.<ref name="zewde" /> Resistance by conservatives at the Imperial Court and Parliament, and by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, made Selassie's land reform proposals difficult to implement. The standing of the government was damaged, costing Selassie much goodwill and sowing resentment among the peasant population. Efforts to weaken unions also hurt his image.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cohen|first=John|date=1985|title=Foreign Involvement in the Formulation of Ethiopia's Land Tenure Policies: Part I|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43660357|journal=Northeast African Studies|volume=7|issue=2|pages=23–50|jstor=43660357}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=4 November 1971|title=Haile Selassie Presses Ethiopian Land Reform|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/04/archives/haile-selassie-presses-ethiopian-land-reform.html|access-date=5 December 2023|archive-date=5 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205211939/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/04/archives/haile-selassie-presses-ethiopian-land-reform.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In the last years of his rule, civil liberties and political rights in Ethiopia were low, with [[Freedom House]] giving Ethiopia a "Not Free" score in both categories.<ref name="FH1972">{{cite web|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FIW%20All%20Scores%2C%20Countries%2C%201973-2012%20%28FINAL%29.xls|title=Country ratings and status, FIW 1973–2012|access-date=22 August 2012|publisher=[[Freedom House]]|year=2012|format=XLS|archive-date=24 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424223549/http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FIW%20All%20Scores%2C%20Countries%2C%201973-2012%20%28FINAL%29.xls|url-status=live}}</ref> Common human rights abuses included poor prison conditions and the imprisonment and torture of political dissidents. Nonetheless, the Emperor was known for pardoning hundreds of prisoners at a time and there were no more than ten political prisoners during his entire reign.<ref name="Feeding on Ethiopia's Famine" /><ref>ከበደ, በሪሁን (1 October 2000). ''የአፄ ኃይለሥላሴ ታሪክ''. Addis Ababa: አርቲስቲክ ማተሚያ ቤት. p. 1255.</ref>{{Verify source|date=November 2024|reason=See talk page.}}

The [[Ethiopian Army|Imperial Army]] also carried out a multiple [[List of massacres committed during the Eritrean War of Independence| atrocities]] during the war with Eritrean separatists in the late 1960s and early 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shabait.com/staging/publish/article_006961.html|title=40th anniversary of Hazemo Massacre commemorated|access-date=26 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015508/http://www.shabait.com/staging/publish/article_006961.html|publisher=Shabait|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Laett Eritrea|first=Louise|last=Latt|title=Eritrea Re-photographed: Landscape Changes in the Eritrean Highlands 1890–2004|url=http://www.cde.unibe.ch/University/pdf/TTD/Laett_Eritrea.pdf|access-date=26 September 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060304115009/http://www.cde.unibe.ch/University/pdf/TTD/Laett_Eritrea.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2006}}</ref><ref>Killion, Tom (1998). ''Historical Dictionary of Eritrea''. The Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|0-8108-3437-5}}.</ref><ref>Ayele, Fantahun (2014). ''he Ethiopian Army: From Victory to Collapse, 1977–1991''. Northwestern University Press. p. 6. {{ISBN|978-0-8101-6805-3}} – via Google Books.</ref>

==== Foreign relations ====

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}}

As these issues began to pile up, Selassie left much of domestic governance to Aklilu Habte-Wold and concentrated more on foreign affairs. Over the previous two decades, Ethiopia had received over 400 million dollars in aid, 140 million of that being for the Ethiopian military, and 240 million for economic assistance.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Campbell|first=John Franklin|date=1 April 1970|title=Rumblings Along the Red Sea: The Eritrean Question|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/eritrea/1970-04-01/rumblings-along-red-sea-eritrean-question|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126095131/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/eritrea/1970-04-01/rumblings-along-red-sea-eritrean-question|archive-date=26 November 2018|work=[[Foreign Affairs]]}}</ref>

Outside Ethiopia, Selassie continued to enjoy enormous prestige and respect. As the longest-serving head of state in power, he was often given precedence over other leaders at state events, such as the [[state funeral]]s of [[State funeral of John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]] and [[Charles de Gaulle]], the summits of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], and the [[2,500 year celebration of Iran's monarchy|1971 celebration]] of the 2,500 years of the [[History of Iran|Persian Empire]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=11 November 1970|title=France Mourns de Gaulle; World Leaders to Attend a Service at Notre Dame|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/11/11/archives/france-mourns-de-gaulle-world-leaders-to-attend-a-service-at-notre.html|access-date=30 December 2023|archive-date=13 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413194204/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/11/11/archives/france-mourns-de-gaulle-world-leaders-to-attend-a-service-at-notre.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Tait|first=Robert|date=22 September 2005|title=Iran to rebuild spectacular tent city at Persepolis|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/sep/22/arts.iran|access-date=30 December 2023|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813144554/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/sep/22/arts.iran|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In 1970, Selassie visited Italy as a guest of President [[Giuseppe Saragat]], and in [[Milan]] he met [[Giordano Dell'Amore]], President of the Italian Savings Banks Association. He visited China in October 1971, and was the first foreign head of state to meet [[Mao Zedong]] following the death of Mao's designated successor [[Lin Biao]] in a plane crash in Mongolia.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1971|title=People's Republic of China: Emperor Haile Selassie Meets Chairman Mao, Then Visits University and Great Wall|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/228687/|website=[[Pathé News]]|access-date=30 December 2023|archive-date=30 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230194801/https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/228687/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>T. Bianchi and M.A. Romani (eds),''Giordano Dell'Amore'', EGEA, Milan, 2013, p. 79.</ref>

{{Multiple image
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| image1            = The Emperor in the UN General Assembly.png
| image2            = 1970 UN speech by H.I.M Haile Selassie I.ogg
| footer            = Selassie's speech regarding [[human rights]] on 23 October 1970, which marked the 25th anniversary of the [[United Nations]]' founding
}}

Selassie went to meet [[Pope Paul VI]] in 1970 at [[Vatican City]], where they discussed issues regarding both their countries and history.<ref>{{Cite news|date=9 November 1970|title=SYND 9-11-70 Ethiopian Emperor Selassie arrives at the Vatican and meets with Pope Paul and they exchange gifts|url=https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=9b13e1d5a84c7daa7976f9cdbb6eab9d&mediatype=video&source=youtube|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241108154858/https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=9b13e1d5a84c7daa7976f9cdbb6eab9d&mediatype=video&source=youtube|archive-date=8 November 2024|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> 

[[File:Pope with Emperor.png|thumb|left|Selassie with [[Pope Paul VI]] at the [[Holy See]], 10 November 1970]]

==== Wollo famine ====

{{main|1972–1975 Wollo famine}}

{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Ethiopia PPP GDP and Population growth.png
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| caption1          = Ethiopia's population and [[Lists of countries by GDP per capita|GDP Per Capita]] growth during a part of Selassie's reign from 1950 to 1973
| caption2          = The Land distribution throughout the [[Ethiopian Empire]] to nobles throughout each region.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lavers|first=Tom|title=Ethiopia's 'Developmental State' Political Order and Distributive Crisis|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/ethiopias-developmental-state/ethiopian-state-formation-and-the-revolutionary-origins-of-eprdf-dominance/B289BE6923C0C6CBC67A288E31CCB1F3|chapter=3: Ethiopian State Formation and the Revolutionary Origins of EPRDF Dominance|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|date=21 September 2023|pages=56–83|doi=10.1017/9781009428316.003|isbn=978-1-009-42831-6|access-date=16 March 2024|archive-date=16 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316182456/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/ethiopias-developmental-state/ethiopian-state-formation-and-the-revolutionary-origins-of-eprdf-dominance/B289BE6923C0C6CBC67A288E31CCB1F3|url-status=live}}</ref>
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[[Famines in Ethiopia|Famine]]{{snd}}mostly in Wollo, north-eastern Ethiopia, as well as in some parts of Tigray{{snd}}is estimated to have killed 40,000 to 80,000 Ethiopians between 1972 and 1974.<ref name="hrw">{{cite web|title=Rebellion and Famine in the North under Haile Selassie|url=http://hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/c3wollo.pdf|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=17 February 2008|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924181350/http://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/c3wollo.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Sfn|De Waal|p=58}} Some reports suggest that the Emperor was unaware of the famine's extent,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mohr|first=Charles|date=18 February 1974|title=Rift in Ethiopian Society May Be Deepened by Famine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/18/archives/rift-in-ethiopian-society-may-be-deepened-by-famine.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=24 March 2024|archive-date=24 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324164447/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/18/archives/rift-in-ethiopian-society-may-be-deepened-by-famine.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Truth About Haile Selassie's Legacy">{{cite web|last1=Mohr|first1=Charles|date=15 February 1974|title=Ethiopian Famine Hits Millions|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/15/archives/ethiopian-famine-hits-millions-ethiopian-famine-affects-millions.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=24 March 2024|archive-date=24 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324164446/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/15/archives/ethiopian-famine-hits-millions-ethiopian-famine-affects-millions.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dson">Dickinson, Daniel, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4537151.stm "The last of the Ethiopian emperors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006140943/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4537151.stm |date=6 October 2014 }}, BBC News, Addis Ababa, 12 May 2005.</ref> while others assert that he was well aware of it.{{Sfn |De Waal | p = 61}}<ref>Woodward, Peter (2003), ''The Horn of Africa: Politics and International Relations''. I. B. Tauris. {{ISBN|1-86064-870-3}}, p. 175.</ref> The famine and its image in the media undermined the government's popular support, and his once unassailable popularity declined.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Webb|first1=Patrick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YujWY3vkccC&dq=wollo+Tigray+famine+end+1975&pg=PA27|title=Famine in Ethiopia: Policy Implications of Coping Failure at National and Household Levels|last2=Braun|first2=Joachim Von|last3=Yohannes|first3=Yisehac|date=1992|publisher=Intl Food Policy Res Inst|isbn=978-0-89629-095-2|language=en|access-date=6 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005122316/https://books.google.com.et/books?id=4YujWY3vkccC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=wollo+Tigray+famine+end+1975&source=bl&ots=Q8vBxq8a8f&sig=ACfU3U359Aa7aHPRNLrTHWgrdjMfEwhqkg&hl=am&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTt9jth8n6AhWPgP0HHTTkAxs4ChDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=wollo%20Tigray%20famine%20end%201975&f=false|archive-date=5 October 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to the exposure of attempts by corrupt local officials to cover up the famine from the imperial government, the [[Kremlin]]'s depiction of Selassie's Ethiopia as backwards and inept (relative to the purported utopia of [[Marxism–Leninism]]) contributed to the popular uprising that led to its downfall and the rise of [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]].<ref>Kumar, Krishna (1998). ''Postconflict Elections, Democratisation, and International Assistance''. Lynne Rienner Publishers. {{ISBN|1-55587-778-8}}, p. 114.</ref> The crisis was exacerbated by military mutinies and high [[oil prices]]. The costs of imported goods, gasoline, and food skyrocketed, while unemployment spiked.<ref name="mammo" />

=== The Ethiopian revolution ===

{{main|Ethiopian Revolution}}

In February 1974, four days of serious riots in Addis Ababa against sudden economic inflation left five dead. The Emperor responded by announcing on national television a reduction in petrol prices and a freeze on the cost of basic commodities. This calmed the public, but the promised 33% military wage hike was not substantial enough to pacify the army, which then mutinied, beginning in [[Asmara]] and spreading throughout the empire. This mutiny led to the resignation of Aklilu Habte-Wold as prime minister on 27 February 1974.<ref name="evang">Launhardt, Johannes (2005). ''Evangelicals in Addis Ababa (1919–1991)''. LIT Verlag. {{ISBN|3-8258-7791-4}}, pp. 239–240.</ref> Selassie again went on television to agree to the army's demands for still greater pay, and named [[Endelkachew Makonnen]] as the new prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mohr|first=Charles|date=1 March 1974|title=Selassie, to Placate Army, Appoints a New Premier|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/01/archives/selassie-to-placate-army-appoints-a-new-premier-selassie-picks-new.html|access-date=30 December 2023|archive-date=30 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230034443/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/01/archives/selassie-to-placate-army-appoints-a-new-premier-selassie-picks-new.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=4 July 1974|title=Selassie Grants 5 Concessions to Army, Including an Amnesty|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/04/archives/selassie-grants-5-concessions-to-army-including-an-amnesty-army.html|access-date=30 December 2023|archive-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033932/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/04/archives/selassie-grants-5-concessions-to-army-including-an-amnesty-army.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite Endalkatchew's many concessions, discontent continued in March with a four-day general strike that paralyzed the nation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 April 1974|title=Ethiopia: Postal Workers End Four-day Strike|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/130937/|website=[[Pathé News]]}}</ref>

==== Imprisonment ====

{{main|1974 Ethiopian coup d'état}}

The [[Derg]], a clique of junior officers and enlisted men, set up in June to investigate the military's demands, took advantage of the government's disarray to depose the 82-year-old Selassie on {{nowrap|12 September.<ref name=qceros>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dDRWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6032%2C2832764|work=Eugene Register-Guard|location=(Oregon)|agency=Associated Press|title=Quiet coup ends reign of Selassie|date=12 September 1974|page=1A|access-date=21 September 2020|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030164414/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dDRWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6032%2C2832764|url-status=live}}</ref>}} General [[Aman Mikael Andom]], a Protestant of Eritrean origin,<ref name="evang" /> served briefly as provisional head of state pending the return of Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, who was then receiving medical treatment abroad. Selassie was imprisoned briefly at the 4th Army Division in Addis Ababa<ref name="evang" /> before being moved back to the Grand Palace where the Emperor spent the last months of his life under house arrest.<ref name="fate">Meredith, Martin (2005), ''The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair''. Public Affairs, {{ISBN|1-58648-398-6}}, p. 216.</ref>[[File:The Ethiopian Royal Family.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Following the [[1974 Ethiopian coup d'état|1974 coup d'état]], much of the [[Ethiopian royal family]] fled the country, were imprisoned, or were executed.]]

Though initially most of the imperial family was detained at the late [[Prince Makonnen|Duke of Harar]]'s residence in the north of the capital, most were later moved into Addis Ababa's [[Kerchele Prison]], also known as "Alem Bekagn". On 23 November 60 former high officials of the imperial government were summarily [[executed by firing squad]],<ref name=shinn44>{{Harvnb |Shinn | p = 44}}.</ref> including Selassie's grandson, Rear Admiral [[Iskinder Desta]], General Aman and two former prime ministers.<ref name= fate /><ref name=arexsxtu>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DaRVAAAAIBAJ&pg=3163%2C5786259|work=Eugene Register-Guard|location=(Oregon)|agency=Associated Press|title=Army rulers in Ethiopia execute 62|date=24 November 1974|page=1A|access-date=21 September 2020|archive-date=25 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125225216/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DaRVAAAAIBAJ&pg=3163%2C5786259|url-status=live}}</ref> These killings, known to Ethiopians as [[Massacre of the Sixty|"Black Saturday"]], were condemned by the Crown Prince; the Derg responded to his rebuke by revoking its acknowledgment of his imperial legitimacy, and announcing the end of the [[Solomonic dynasty]].<ref name="shinn44" />

==== Execution and cover-up ====

On 27 August 1975, Selassie was murdered on the orders of the Derg regime, a fact that was to remain undiscovered for another twenty years. On 28 August 1975, state media reported that Selassie had died on 27 August of "respiratory failure" following complications from a prostate examination followed up by a prostate operation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Haile Selassie of Ethiopia Dies at 83|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0723.html|work=The New York Times|date=28 August 1975|access-date=21 July 2007|archive-date=25 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825184920/http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0723.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Dr. [[Asrat Woldeyes]] denied that complications had occurred and rejected the government version of his death. The prostate operation in question apparently had taken place months before the state media claimed, and Selassie had apparently enjoyed strong health in his last days.<ref>{{harvnb|Asserate|p=348}}</ref>

In 1994, an Ethiopian court found several former military officers guilty of strangling the Emperor in his bed in 1975. Three years after the Derg regime was overthrown,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/15/world/ex-rulers-of-ethiopia-charged-with-strangling-haile-selassie.html|title=Ex-Rulers of Ethiopia Charged With Strangling Haile Selassie|agency=Reuters|work=The New York Times|date=15 December 1994|access-date=6 November 2018|language=en|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107104003/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/15/world/ex-rulers-of-ethiopia-charged-with-strangling-haile-selassie.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the court charged them with genocide and murder, claiming that it had obtained documents attesting to a high-level order from the military regime to assassinate Selassie for leading a "feudal regime".<ref name="wapo">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/12/15/ethiopian-court-hears-how-emperor-was-killed/af51020c-547c-4b9c-92df-52be6e2a2241/|title=Ethiopian Court Hears How Emperor Was Killed|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=6 November 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=31 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231103240/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/12/15/ethiopian-court-hears-how-emperor-was-killed/af51020c-547c-4b9c-92df-52be6e2a2241/|url-status=live}}</ref> Documents have been widely circulated online showing the Derg's final assassination order and bearing the military regime's seal and signature.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ethioreference.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/By-Wibshet-Mulat-Amdetsion-Minilik.jpg|title="እንኳን ሰው ዝንብ አልገደልኩም!" ኮ/ል መንግሥቱ የ''60ዎቹ'' ባለስልጣናት ግድያ 43ኛ ዓመት መታሰቢያ|date=1 November 1974|website=Ethio Reference|access-date=6 November 2018|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107104040/http://www.ethioreference.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/By-Wibshet-Mulat-Amdetsion-Minilik.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://face2faceafrica.com/article/the-real-story-of-the-last-days-of-emperor-haile-selassie-of-ethiopia|title=The real story of the last days of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia|date=27 August 2018|work=Face2Face Africa|access-date=6 November 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107104142/https://face2faceafrica.com/article/the-real-story-of-the-last-days-of-emperor-haile-selassie-of-ethiopia|url-status=live}}</ref> The veracity of these documents has been corroborated by multiple former members of the Derg regime.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Misekerenet Bebaale Seltanatu Andebet|last=Riste|first=Tesfaye|year=2009|location=Addis Ababa, Ethiopia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Egnana Abiyotu|last=Wogderess|first=Fikre Selassie|publisher=Tsehay Publishers|year=2014|pages=211, 310}}</ref>[[File:Tomb of Emperor Haile Selassie (11320061113).jpg|alt=The tombs of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen Asfaw|thumb|The tombs of Haile Selassie and Menen Asfaw inside the [[Holy Trinity Cathedral (Addis Ababa)|Holy Trinity Cathedral]] in Addis Ababa]]

=== Funeral and veneration ===

The Soviet-backed [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia]], the Derg's successor, fell in 1991. In 1992, Selassie's bones were [[Excavation of Haile Selassie's remain|found]] under a concrete slab on the palace grounds.<ref name="imperialburial">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E3DF1239F935A35752C1A9669C8B63&scp=2&sq=Haile+Selassie&st=nyt "An Imperial Burial for Haile Selassie, 25 Years After Death"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706031309/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/06/world/an-imperial-burial-for-haile-selassie-25-years-after-death.html |date=6 July 2024 }}, ''The New York Times'', 6 November 2000.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DF1F3FF932A35750C0A964958260&scp=4&sq=Haile+Selassie&st=nyt&sq=Haile+Selassie&st=nyt "Ethiopians Celebrate a Mass for Exhumed Haile Selassie"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706031304/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/01/world/ethiopians-celebrate-a-mass-for-exhumed-haile-selassie.html |date=6 July 2024 }}, ''The New York Times'', 1 March 1992.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Parmelee|first=Jennifer|date=17 February 1992|title=Ethiopians Exhume Purported Remains of Emperor Amid Probe of Mengistu Regime|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/02/18/ethiopians-exhume-purported-remains-of-emperor-amid-probe-of-mengistu-regime/8d9332af-9d8c-4f85-a8e9-43cdca3f2e60/|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Selassie's coffin rested in Bhata Church for nearly a decade, near his great-uncle [[Menelik II]]'s resting place.<ref name="lorch">Lorch, Donatella (31 December 1995). [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE3D71239F932A05751C1A963958260&scp=15&sq=Haile+Selassie&st=nyt "Ethiopia Deals With Legacy of Kings and Colonels"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706031305/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/31/world/ethiopia-deals-with-legacy-of-kings-and-colonels.html |date=6 July 2024 }}. ''The New York Times''.</ref> On 5 November 2000, the [[Holy Trinity Cathedral (Addis Ababa)|Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa]] gave him a funeral, but the government refused calls to declare the ceremony an official imperial funeral.<ref>{{Cite news|date=6 November 2000|title=Haile Selassie Laid to Rest in Ethiopia|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-06-mn-47912-story.html|url-access=subscription|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=19 February 2024|archive-date=19 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219053159/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-06-mn-47912-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This may have been due to the government's reluctance to endorse or give even subtle political recognition to Royalists.<ref name="lorch" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Guardia|first=Anton La|date=13 June 2000|title=Quandary over funeral plan for Haile Selassie|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/ethiopia/1342650/Quandary-over-funeral-plan-for-Haile-Selassie.html/1000|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=19 February 2024|archive-date=19 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219053159/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/ethiopia/1342650/Quandary-over-funeral-plan-for-Haile-Selassie.html/1000|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Astill|first=James|date=2 November 2000|title=Lion of Judah controversial to the last|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

==== Rastafari reaction ====

Prominent Rastafari figures such as [[Rita Marley]] participated in the funeral, but most Rastafari rejected the event and refused to accept that the bones were Selassie's remains. There is some debate within the [[Rastafari movement]] whether he actually died in 1975.<ref>Edmonds, Ennis Barrington (2002), ''Rastafari: From Outcasts to Culture Bearers''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-803060-6}}, p. 55.</ref>