Author: Crown Council

A Statement from the Crown Council of Ethiopia

His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia sends Greetings to all as we enter this important period of reflection and fasting marked by the Great Lent. He stressed the particular importance of reflection at this particularly difficult time in Ethiopian history, which demands from all of us the compassion which will restore Ethiopian unity and peace. He offered the following prayer for this Lenten period:

“In the omnipresence of his spirit, and in the name and grace of our everlasting, merciful Holy Father, we pray to God, our Holy Creator, to bless us and to forgive us for our sins. Let us each pray and enter into a Covenant with God to commit ourselves to a period of fasting and prayer so that God blesses our country Ethiopia with the restoration of peace, love and unity; let us fast and pray so that we may also achieve world peace. Now is time for prayer. Now is the time for all of us to stretch our hands unto God in absolute faith and diligent prayer.”

A Statement by His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie,

President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia.

ጥር 23, 2015 / January 31, 2023

We have, these past weeks, been sadly reflecting on the passing, in Athens on January 10, 2023, of His Majesty King Constantine II of the Hellenes. He was a significant figure in the pantheon of Orthodox Christian monarchs, during his great service as King and afterwards, and always a true friend of his fellow Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia. Indeed, he was a friend to all Ethiopians.

There was, and is, a great warmth between Ethiopia and Greece, and not merely because of the links between our Orthodox Churches, but also because of the wonderful and loyal population of Greek Ethiopians. To them, and to the people of Greece in their homeland and around the world, we extend our profound sorrow and share in your loss.

To the Greek Orthodox Church, we extend our humble appreciation for the role the Church and Clergy played in the funeral and memorial services for His Majesty. They restored a sense of Greek nobility and dignity reminiscent of the days in which His Majesty and his forebears reigned.

The Ethiopian Crown was represented at the funeral solemnities by our Representative, Omiros Fotiadis, KCSE, who had also been loyal to His Majesty King Constantine for many years. And he conveyed our letter of sadness to Her Majesty Queen Anne-Marie, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Pavlos, and the Greek Royal Family.

We need, at this time of reflection, to build on the symbolism of His Majesty King Constantine to establish a stronger and more organised network of Orthodox Christian Royal and Imperial Houses to preserve the values of our societies, and to continue to serve as the bridge between Christendom and our national brethren of other Solomonic faiths. We, in Ethiopia, need to take inspiration from this period of reflection not only to reach out to our Orthodox brothers and sisters around the world, but also to our own Christians of different denominations and to the Muslim Ethiopians with whom our faith has given us an unshakeable bond.

His Majesty King Constantine by his virtue set an example of healing and unity and will not be forgotten.

RIP

September 1, 1931 – January 3, 2023

It is with deep sadness that His Imperial Highness (HIH) Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie Haile Selassie, on behalf of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, expresses his sincere condolences to all members of the Imperial Family, dear relatives and friends regarding the passing of the late Princess Seble Desta.

Princess Seble Desta was the last surviving child of Princess Tenagne Worq Haile Selassie, Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen Asfaw’s first child, and venerated war hero, His Excellency Ras Desta Damtew, who courageously fought in the resistance against the then Fascist Italy during the Second World War.

Princess Seble was an enlightened and compassionate person. She was a true survivor, in every sense of the word, with great fortitude, perseverance, and a strong personality. Princess Seble is someone who will be missed.  

Princess Seble lost her father during the Italian war at a very young age. She subsequently lived in-exile in Bath, England with the rest of her family during the years of Ethiopia’s occupation by Italy from 1936-1941. During the Communist revolution in Ethiopia, Princess Seble lost her grandfather Emperor Haile Selassie, her brother, Commodore Eskinder Desta as well as her husband Dejazmatch Kassa Woldemariam whilst imprisoned. They were all murdered by the military junta that deposed Ethiopia’s Solomonic Dynasty, one of the longest lasting dynasties in the world, sixty of the Emperor’s top officials including Princess Seble’s brother Commodore Eskinder and the then Patriarch of Ethiopia Abune Tewoflos prior to unleashing a campaign of Red Terror on the whole nation killing millions of other Ethiopians thereafter.

After returning to Ethiopia from exile in England, Princess Seble worked as a personal secretary to His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie and accompanied him on many State Visits around the world. Princess Seble, however, is known for her extensive humanitarian contributions, and the way in which she served her country and its citizens with the tenderness of heart and humbleness of spirit.

History will remember Princess Seble for following in both her mother, Princess Tenange Worq Haile Selassie and grandmother, Empress Menen’s, footsteps. Her humanitarian contributions and service as President of the Ethiopian Women’s Welfare Association, as documented by the New York Times on September 6, 1970 in an article entitled “Ethiopian Women Offered New Life” serves as such testament. It should also be noted that during Princess Seble’s tenure as President, the Ethiopian Women’s Association built a state-of-the-art facility to house young women safely.

Princess Seble’s kind deeds were a manifestation of her faith and strong belief in God. It is because of her unwavering faith in Christianity and the continued advocacy and support of the Imperial Family during times of need by European royal families, sympathetic foreign officials and human rights groups among others that she was able to ultimately cope and survive 14 years of imprisonment during the Derg era prior to being released in 1988. Princess Seble persevered through all of this, and while the pain and sorrow of losing her will always remain with those of us still living, the fact that she has now finally reunited with our beloved family in heaven gives us comfort.

Princess Seble reunited with her children and family members in the United States in 1989 after completing her education in England, first at the Clarendon School for Girls and then at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford. She spent the last decades of her life caring for her family, helping raise her grandchildren, staying active in the community, including volunteering to teach English as a second language to immigrant community members in her neighborhood’s local library.

Princess Seble Desta passed away in her home on January 3, 2023. She was buried on Thursday, in the family crypt at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on January 12, 2023.

We will cherish your memories and always remember your name and kind deeds.

May the God Almighty rest Princess Seble’s soul in peace.

HIH Prince Ermias Accepts Pan-African Award from the Ethiopian Government for Late Emperor Haile Selassie’s Leading Role in Establishing African Unity

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 1, 2022 (ጥቅምት 22, 2015): His Imperial Highness (HIH) Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, on November 1, 2022, accepted a Pan-African prize from Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed on behalf of HIH’s late grandfather, His Imperial Majesty (HIM) Emperor Haile Selassie I, for his leading role in establishing the Organization of African Unity, now known as the African Union.

The Ethiopian Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy, extended a special invitation to HIH Prince Ermias and his delegation during their official State Visit to Jamaica to par-take in Africa’s first Youth Summit held from October 29 to November 1, 2022, in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Prince Ermias was invited to accept an award along with other family members of the Founding Fathers of the Organization of African Unity and Pan-Africanism during the Youth Summit, and to engage with the next generation of African leaders.

The Ethiopian Government posthumously honored HIM Emperor Haile Selassie in a presentation before the Ethiopian Prime Minister, former African Heads of State, members of the Government, the diplomatic corps accredited in Addis Ababa, and notable personalities for his unwavering support in the quest for African freedom and independence as well as his leading role in establishing the OAU.

HIH Prince Ermias sincerely appreciated the Ethiopian Government taking the lead in honoring the legacy of Emperor Haile Selassie within Ethiopia after nearly a half-century of false propaganda and censorship by previous regimes. Prince Ermias also commended Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen for being positive agents-of-change, especially in light of Dr Abiy’s green legacy initiative and vision of creating a conducive environment to help advance, uplift, and bring prosperity to all Africans.

The four-day African Youth Summit brought young African leaders from across Africa to discuss the best ways of promoting and advancing Pan-Africanist ideals throughout the Continent.

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

Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Horace Chang and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, The Honourable Olivia Grange met with His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie at Jamaica House. – courtesy Nicholas Melillo

Wednesday, October 19th, 2022, Kingston, Jamaica: the Honorable Madame Olivia Grange, on behalf of the Jamaican Government, and myself, on behalf of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, in the presence of my delegation and the media, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), agreeing to erect a statue of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie in National Heroes Park in Kingston, Jamaica during the next fiscal year.

The MOU also establishes that both Parties shall collaboratively work together to foster and build upon the relations that were established pursuant to the State Visit made by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1966 in the areas of Education, Sports, Culture, Tourism and Trade. The purpose of the MOU is to also promote prosperity, peace and intercultural exchange amongst the peoples of Ethiopia, Jamaica, Africa and the Diaspora at-large.

I would like to take this very joyous moment to thank my delegation who accompanied me and Princess Saba, the Ethiopian Consul in Jamaica, the Jamaican Government for its support and hospitality as well as the Rastafarian Community.

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

(Kingston, Jamaica) – His Imperial Highness (HIH) Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, the grandson of His Imperial Majesty (HIM) Emperor Haile Selassie, the Prince’s wife Her Imperial Highness (HIH) Princess Saba Kebede and advisors to the Crown Council of Ethiopia will arrive in Kingston, Jamaica on Thursday, October 13, 2022.

HER Prince Ermias Sable Selassie will arrive upon invitation by the Government of Jamaica, as the Nation’s Special Guest for Heritage week. HIH Prince Ermias, along with his advisors, is scheduled to meet with various Government officials including the Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sport, Honourable Dr. Horace Chang, Deputy Prime Minister, His Excellency Sir Patrick Allen, the Governor General, Honourable Thomas Tavares-Finson, President of the Senate, the Honourable Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Mrs. Yodit Hylton, Honorary Consul of Ethiopia. HIH Prince Ermias and advisors are also slated to meet with political opposition and Rastafarian Community leaders in both Kingston and Montego Bay.

The Prince will also be presented with the Key to the City of Montego Bay by the Mayor, Leeroy Williams, and in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Horace Chang, and the Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Homer Davis.

HIH Prince Ermias and Crown Council advisors will attend Communion Service at the Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Church in St Andrew and meet with members of the Orthodox Community. They will also tour the Trench Town Culture Yard in St Andrew and meet with members of the Rastafari community who have been invited to attend these special engagements with the Prince and his advisors.

HIH Prince Ermias is expected to issue a Statement and host a press briefing upon arrival.

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

ጳጉሜ 5, 2014

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II fulfilled her promise to God and her duty to her People and all of the People of the World on ጳጉሜ 3, 2014 (September 8, 2022), and was given rest. We mourn and exalt her, particularly for her abiding friendship and commitment to the People of Ethiopia and to our own late ግርማዊ ንጉሠ ነገሥት Haile Selassie I.

Queen Elizabeth swore to the Almighty that she would, as long as she lived, serve her People, and was anointed by God to do so. In that, and in the fulfillment of that promise, she was alike with our own beloved Emperor. They drew breath and were anointed of God only to serve, and to serve well with courage, wisdom, restraint, and kindness.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Emperor Haile Selassie were greatly devoted to each other and to the welfare of each other’s societies. Queen Elizabeth visited Ethiopia to pay tribute to the Emperor, and it was her father, the King Emperor George VI, who gave refuge to our Emperor during the Second Italian invasion of Ethiopia, assisting him in preparing and waging the great battles to restore Ethiopia to its people after five years of brutal occupation. Little wonder that our Emperor saw in the manner of Queen Elizabeth’s reign over the end of the colonial period and the institution of stable constitutional monarchy a model for how Ethiopia could succeed in moving, itself, toward constitutional monarchy and democracy.

Her Majesty bestowed upon our Emperor, my Grandfather, two great gifts unique to such an ally: he was created a Knight of the Garter, Britain’s highest honour; and he was made a Field Marshal of the British Army. ጃንሆይ Haile Selassie bestowed upon Her Majesty and her Consort, Prince Philip, the highest Orders within the Solomonic gift. In every sense, they bowed to each other, with the compassion of understanding of the great things which harnessed them together in the service of their People.

Queen Elizabeth continued to represent continuity with the Emperor and Ethiopia, in many respects, after the coup of መስከረም 1967 (1974) and regicide (ነሐሴ 21, 1967) against the Emperor, giving refuge and aid where possible to those of the Imperial Family who were exiled in the United Kingdom and unable to return to their homeland.

I was such a beneficiary of this kindness and understood intimately that the Queen and the British People were also the family and protectors of their Ethiopian Solomonic cousins.

Her Majesty retained her commitment to the People of Ethiopia even as her health declined. In 2021 she actively participated in the shaping the design of the Ethiopian Crown Council’s Victory of Gondar Medal, which, with its issue on November 21, 2021 (ኅዳር 12, 2014), celebrated the 80th anniversary of the joint Ethiopian-British (and Commonwealth) efforts to defeat the Italian occupation in ኅዳር 1934 (November 1941). The medal finally brought recognition to the thousands of Patriots (አርበኞች) and members of the British and Commonwealth forces who died to liberate Ethiopia, and Her Majesty played a role in that.

So, Her Majesty never forgot us, as we will never forget her. She worked to bring Ethiopia into the greater community of global leadership out of respect for our Emperor and our Solomonic line, which gives us the oldest unbroken link to the time of King Solomon and Queen Makeda of Saba.

Her son, now His Majesty King Charles III, has been highly conscious of our shared links as Peoples. He has seen so many times our Emperor’s standard and crest in the chapel for the Order of the Garter, in Windsor, and was aware of Her Majesty’s abiding friendship with Ethiopia. So we share his grief at the passing of his beloved Mother in a way that shared families can share such feelings. And we wish him long life in his Great Service; as long a life as can be dreamed, and more, after his patient decades of apprenticeship for the Throne.

We, the Ethiopian Crown and People, wish him well, and offer him the same shared feeling of family that we have for so long felt with his Crown. We together face the turbulent future, knowing that what we can do to reflect the nobility, identity, and values of our People will determine the fate, safety, and well-being of our nations. We can do that together.

There can be no higher calling than that.

God Bless Queen Elizabeth II; go with our tears of thanks.

Long Live King Charles III; go forward with our hopes and prayers.

God Bless Ethiopia.

A Statement by His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, on the Recent Violence in Ethiopia

My heart breaks when I hear of the senseless massacre of innocent Ethiopians in Wolega and Gambela. Too many times in recent years have we seen these tragedies take place again and again, all over our country. We are now reaping the bitter harvest of five decades of ethnic politics, five decades of dividing our family into ever smaller groups based on our language, our religion, our region.

We must change course now. If we do not, these massacres will happen again and again, until we are numb to them, and forget that we were once human. We all have a role to play, both in what we say and what we do. We must never praise or blame each other for the languages we speak or do not speak, the ancestors we share or do not share. Words matter. They inspire the worst among us to violence. And that violence has to stop. A thousand dead today might be ten thousand tomorrow, or far worse next year. Then the freedom and independence we earned and preserved through our darkest days will be squandered in a holocaust of our own making.

Nearly two decades ago, the Crown Council under my leadership announced its aim to be a strictly non-political institution. We stand by that goal. But it is not political to ask all Ethiopians to rise above party and ethnicity. It is not political to demand that our government and its leaders act quickly and decisively to protect the lives of all Ethiopians. And it is not political to remind Ethiopia that its Crown can help to unify and heal our country today, as it has at many moments in our past.

We must all work to ensure that no massacres like those we have just seen ever take place again. Nearly four years ago, our government established a Peace and Reconciliation Commission to help heal our country. But it has been able to accomplish little, receiving little government funding or support. We need its work now more than ever before.

And we need to do even more. I urge our country’s political and spiritual leaders – every priest and imam, every member of parliament to the Prime Minister himself – to work nonstop in the coming weeks and months, to build a new beginning. We must go to every region, every woreda, every kebele, and teach the next generation the message of peace and reconciliation.

We must love each other, every one of us, or all of us will fail.

By His Imperial Highness Le’ul Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia

Washington, DC: March 12, 2022 

My Dear Bishop, Honorable Lijs and members of the Balabatawinet (the Ethiopian nobility), distinguished award recipients, your excellencies, and beloved friends of Ethiopia …

Firstly, let me congratulate the great individuals honoured here tonight. Each year, we present a very small number of medals to commemorate the Victory of Adwa. Each of you have performed outstanding work for Ethiopia; for your communities in the diaspora and at home. As you remember Adwa, we remember you. We thank you.

Ours is a sacred mission tonight: to remember, to honour, to cherish, and to learn from the great sacrifice of the patriots of Ethiopia who united 126 years ago to repel a great invading Army. Emperor Menelik II and his Empress, Taitu, rallied all of Ethiopia to act as one, showing that great unity could be achieved without the loss of the many individual cultures, traditions, and languages of our many nations.

Ethiopia showed that it was capable of acting as a great nation on the world stage.

We are fortunate that you will soon here some brief remarks about the Victory of Adwa from our distinguished friend, colleague, and historian, Professor Tibebe Eshete, who was honoured with the award of a Victory of Adwa Medal this year for his scholarship.

Our Agafari, Pamela, Marchioness of Tana, will introduce him shortly, and after Dr Tibebe gives his keynote talk, Pamela will introduce the Crown’s Strategic Advisor, Gregory Copley, the Marquess of Tana, to speak briefly about our important current work.

My mission here tonight, and that of my wife, Le’ult Saba, is to thank you again for your support for Ethiopia and the role of the Crown in Ethiopia’s recovery. We have been engaged for so long in a struggle for the survival of our nation and our identity that it is difficult to comprehend that we have been under siege for almost a half-century since the murder of my Grandfather and so many other Ethiopian patriots.

And it was my Grandfather, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, and my Grandmother, Empress Menen, who, like Menelik and Taitu, resisted and ultimately repelled an invading Italian army less than a half-century after the Victory of Adwa. As at the Victory of Adwa, my grandparents worked with patriots — arbegnoch — from all parts of Ethiopia, who united to prove that they were part of a noble mission to preserve the great example of Ethiopia as a pinnacle of African dreams. As with Adwa, the second Italian-Ethiopian war saw victory culminated at the Battle of Gondar after six years of struggle.

History has determined that the millennia of Ethiopia’s unique history and culture should be a pillar which sustains Africa, so when Ethiopia is humiliated and broken, then so, too, is Africa. And for Ethiopia to retain and rebuild its prestige, its traditions and mission must be revered. We are, then, all servants to this task which God has set us.

And yet even after two great trials set for Ethiopia at Adwa and Gondar — and, of course, there were many more great challenges through our history, we were, again within a half-century, beset by the coup which overthrew our Empire, and began almost a half-century more of oppression.

We are now emerging from that dark period, but still face many threats and obstacles, not just from the internal divisions which were created, but by foreign powers funding and inciting internal threats. We see the light, but we have not yet reached it.

How do we retain optimism, identity, dignity, and resilience when we have grown old in these shadows of brutality, oppression, and pervasive lies? How do we know when hope may transform into victory?

Yes, we see rays of light. The first sales of electricity from our Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have begun to demonstrate that Ethiopia can be a great hydropower for the region, as Emperor Haile Selassie envisaged, but that it can take command of its destiny. The Prime Minister paid tribute to those whose vision created the Dam, and rightly saw that this was initiative which began with the Emperor.

And this year, as Ethiopians took up the celebration of Adwa — something your Crown Council has always maintained in exile — we saw that the battle lines have still not been overcome. Those in government who gained their position through the revolutionary period of the Dergue and TPLF attempted to say that the Victory of Adwa was nothing to do with Emperor Menelik and Empress Taitu, and moved the Adwa celebrations away from Menelik Square in Addis Ababa. You may have seen the unofficial celebration of Adwa, which was not organised by the Government. It not only saw Menelik Square filled with peaceful and enthusiastic people waving the tricolor of Ethiopia and spilling out into neighboring areas of the city, it saw a predominance of young people.

The great revival of Ethiopia is not based on old people looking back. It is based on young people looking forward, confident that the past has affirmed their identity of nobility and their unique mission.

We have much still to do. Great scholars, such as Dr Tibebe and our newly-appointed Blaten Geta, Dr Gizachew Tiruneh, both here tonight, are helping rebuild the process of educating Ethiopians and the world of the historic truths which made Ethiopia a durable civilization these past three millennia and more. We thank God for them and their sacred work. Another great Ethiopian scholar, Dr Edward Vestal, a Knight Grand Cross of the Star of Honour, is here with us in spirit tonight, and helped sponsor this event, as he did with the Victory of Gondar Dinner in London last November.  So, too, is Nicholas Melillo, who helped sponsor the important Victory of Gondar dinner last November. He was recently promoted, with much gratitude, to the rank of Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of Honour for his ongoing energy in supporting the cause of Ethiopian unity and the restoration of its honour. With us in spirit tonight, to, are two other sponsors of this great event: their excellencies Owen and Carole Lee Whitman. We thank them, too, for their generosity in helping to sponsor this gathering.

And all of you will have noticed the beautiful works of art created here to celebrate Ethiopia’s Crown. They are the work of the great artist, Kelly Fawaz, who was honoured here tonight, as well, with the Victory of Adwa Medal.

We have founded the Royal Ethiopian Geographical Society, which is charged with bringing together all the learning about Ethiopia’s geographic, geophysical, its other resources, and water data, and to understand the full sociological dynamic of our vast realm. The great Ethiopian Scholar, Gerazmach Dr Wolde Tadesse, has been elected the first President of the Royal Ethiopian Geographical Society, and we look to you all to help make this great endeavour a reality.

We have much more to discuss, but tonight is not the time to do more than reflect on the great lessons of the victories at Adwa and Gondar, and the great victory we need to win by restoring Ethiopia to unity, prosperity, and dignity.

Your Crown has been exceptionally busy, every day of every week, attempting to achieve the revival of our nation. We will not cease. And I thank you for being part of the journey we make together. I asked how we retain optimism, identity, dignity, and resilience through the darkness. The answer is you.

God Bless You. God Bless Emperors Menelik and Haile Selassie. God Bless the Ethiopian People and our beautiful land. Our mission is noble. Thank you.