The Military Medal of Merit of the Order of St. George is the premier decoration for military service available to the Crown.
Continue readingThe Order of the Star of Honour of Ethiopia
The Order of the Star of Ethiopia was founded by Emperor Menelik II in 1884-85, in his capacity as Negus of Shoa and before he became Emperor of Ethiopia in 1889.
Continue readingThe Order of the Ethiopian Lion
The Order of the Ethiopian Lion has its origins in the Order of Menelik II and acquired Insignia of its own in March 1996 on the one-hundredth anniversary of the Victory of Adwa.
Continue readingThe Order of Emperor Haile Selassie I
The Crown Council established the Order of Emperor Haile Selassie I to commemorate the anniversary of His Imperial Majesty’s One Hundredth Birthday, which occurred July 23, 1992.
Continue readingThe Order of Emperor Menelik II
The Order of Emperor Menelik II was founded in 1924 by the Regent, Ras Tafari Makonnen, during the reign of Empress Zauditu, and is one of the most attractive of the Imperial Orders.
Continue readingThe Order of the Holy Trinity
The Order of the Holy Trinity was established by Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1930 for his coronation. The Order was generally limited to the nobility, high clergy and a handful of courtiers.
Continue readingThe Order of the Queen of Sheba
The Order of the Queen of Sheba was established in 1922 during the reign of Empress Zauditu and the Regency of Ras Tafari, but does not appear to have been awarded — or was, at least, little used — until the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1930.
Continue readingThe Order of Solomon’s Seal
The Order of Solomon’s Seal was founded by Emperor Yohannes IV in 1874. The insignia comprised a badge and star. The badge — a combination of a cross and a star of David — is a pendant from an emerald green moiré sash
Continue readingThe Order of Solomon
The Order of Solomon was established initially as a collar by Ras Tafari Makonnen in 1922 — whilst he was still Regent under Empress Zauditu — “to be awarded to foreign Kings who had the rank according to Emperor”
Continue readingJuneteenth and the Global Freedom Struggle
A Statement by His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Crown Council applauds the passing of legislation this week to recognize Juneteenth as a Federal holiday in the United States of America, and we join the African- American diaspora in celebrating this special occasion. Juneteenth commemorates the day — June 19, 1865 — when a Union Army order first enforced the Emancipation Proclamation in the state of Texas. It has since grown into a symbol of freedom from slavery for the entire Black diaspora in the United States of America.
The story of Juneteenth is a story with close parallels to Ethiopian history. Ethiopia’s emperors struggled to eradicate slavery in the nineteenth century. The Emperor Tewodros II’s first attempts to end the practice in the 1850s predate those of the United States. Enforcement of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was slow, uneven, and often depended on force of arms. Likewise, under the Emperor Menelik II and the Emperor Haile Selassie I, Ethiopia’s central government pushed for the abolition of slavery but encountered strong opposition from powerful regional landowners. Not until 1942 did Ethiopia enshrine abolition of slavery into law in its own form of Juneteenth.
In the following decades, Ethiopia became a world leader in the cause of freedom. Ethiopia’s struggle against fascism and triumph over its invaders had inspired Africans at home and in the diaspora. As Black Americans fought the civil rights struggle in the United States, African freedom fighters turned to Ethiopia for inspiration and support in the struggle to end colonialism. We were instrumental in the creation of the Organisation of African Unity — the symbol of Africa’s new-found freedom — and we are still the home of its successor, the African Union, today.
But this journey remains unfinished. Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council, noted: “Juneteenth is the celebration of a pivotal event in human history. But a turning point is never the end of the story. Over the past year, events throughout the world have taught us that the struggle for full freedom is not yet over. As Ethiopians go to the polls this month, we pray that Ethiopia’s leaders will act with the wisdom and courage necessary to give our people ever greater freedom.”
