The Official Website of The Crown Council of Ethiopia

HIH Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President

Congratulations to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

[CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL AMHARIC ORIGINAL OF THIS REPORT]

A Statement from the Crown Council of Ethiopia by its President,

His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie

Washington, DC: April 4, 2018

The Crown Council warmly congratulates Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali on his appointment as Prime Minister of Ethiopia. His appointment, and the peaceful and stable transfer of authority in our country, reflects a returning optimism, maturity, and tolerance in our political and social systems.

Dr Abiy’s appointment comes at an opportune moment for him to lead our country toward a return to being a peaceful, stable, and unified Nation. We are confident that Prime Minister Abiy will, despite the enormous challenges he faces, make headway with his vision to bring about unity, reconciliation, stability, and economic rejuvenation.

The Ethiopian Parliament must also be recognized for ensuring a peaceful transition of power, and for choosing an able candidate who can lead Ethiopia and a young generation to achieve greatness for our country and region.

The Prime Minister’s inaugural speech was important for its heartfelt call for a restoration of Ethiopia’s historical identity, and for the engagement of opposition groups and Ethiopians in the diaspora. We pray that, together with the support of the Ethiopian People and his Administration, Prime Minister Abiy will bring about the necessary reforms, unity of purpose, and civility among our many great peoples and cultures which the Ethiopian people so earnestly desire.

Long live Ethiopia.

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Remarks to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden

by His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia

Stockholm, Sweden

24-28 March 2018

His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, and his wife, HIH Princess Saba Kabede, visited Stockholm, Sweden, during March 2017. Prince Ermias was invested on March 24, 2017, by Princess Marianne Bernadotte with a Stockholm Cultural Award. Other Awards were presented to Gergey Boganyi (the Hungarian Concert Pianist), Rosemary Forbes Butler (the English opera singer), and Carola Haggkvist (the famous Swedish vocalist). The event took place at the House of Nobles.

Their Imperial Highnesses also had a private audience with Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia, recalling the friendship between the grandfathers of Prince Ermias and King Carl Gustaf, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I and His Majesty King Gustaf VI Adolf.

While in Stockholm, Prince Ermias also addressed a Parliamentary group in the Riksdag. The full text of his address follows via the link at the end of this section.

Let me express my great thanks to you, here in the Riksdag, for the opportunity to be with you today.

My pleasure in being with you today is compounded by the knowledge that my late Grandfather, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, enjoyed such strong relations with the Crown and People of Sweden.

His Imperial Majesty first came to Sweden in 1924, while he was still Negus — King — and before he was crowned as Emperor in 1930. Crown Prince Gustav Adolf paid a return visit to Ethiopia in 1935, the first visit by a Swedish member of the Royal Family to Africa.

And after World War II cleared away, the Emperor returned again to Sweden in 1954 and received a wonderful reception from His Majesty King Gustaf Adolf.

Today, after much cordial interchange between our peoples, we see Sweden as a wonderful host to many Ethiopians who fled the violence of the Dergue’s coup in 1974.

That Ethiopians have been so welcomed here in Sweden, and feel so much at home with their Swedish brethren, is very much due to the friendship begun by the Emperor and the King in 1954, and to the earlier contacts between our two countries.

Sweden’s contribution of important medical aid and facilities to Ethiopia, and its contributions to our agriculture and educational facilities, continues to this day to have a positive impact on the lives of Ethiopians;, and for that and all the other support for us by Sweden I add my profound thanks...

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[CLICK HERE FOR A PDF OF THIS STATEMENT]

The Ethiopian Crown Has Never Abandoned the Cause of Ethiopian Unity and Harmony

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A Statement from the Crown Council of Ethiopia by its President,

His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie

8 March 2018

The Crown Council of Ethiopia has watched with concern the rise of divisions within our beloved country, even as Ethiopians have been celebrating the great unifying event of the anniversary of Emperor Menelik II’s Victory at Adwa 122 years ago.

It is not for the Crown to interfere with, or determine, political positions in Ethiopia. The late Emperor Haile Selassie I was committed to introducing a separation between the Crown and the Government, so that the People would be free to choose the political governance of the State.

But the Crown Council reiterates its position that the Ethiopian Crown has never abandoned its commitment and duty to the Ethiopian People, as well as to the State, which is our collective home and legacy, regardless of the coup of 1974 and the subsequent regicide of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I.

The Ethiopian Crown, through its Crown Council, wishes to make clear that it is, and always has been, ready to help mediate and stabilize social relations within our country. We serve all Ethiopians, regardless of race, religion, or location, just as we serve the cause of the territorial integrity of our State.

It is the duty and mission of the Crown to represent the unity and prestige of our unique assembly of societies, which together reflect more than three millennia of shared history, including the unbroken Solomonic lineage. To the Ethiopian People we say: We have never left you. We are ready to serve. We are committed to Ethiopian Democracy, and justice for all, and to respect the absolute right of Ethiopians to choose their own political destiny. The role of governance is for the People to choose. The role of the Crown is to safeguard that right.

[CLICK HERE FOR A PDF OF THIS STATEMENT]