Haile selassie biography for kids

Johnson at the White House. Cover of Time magazine, 3 November When the struggle to resist Italy appeared doomed, Haile Selassie traveled to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela for fasting and prayer. Newspaper illustration drawn by Charles H. Alston for the U. Haile Selassie with U. President John F. Kennedy , October In or , after the deaths of his father and older brother, Tafari became the governor of the Harar province and one of the most influential nobles in Ethiopia.

He married the niece of the heir to the throne, Lij Iyasu, and they had a close relationship. However, when Iyasu became Emperor Iyasu V and displayed a pro-Muslim stance, he was overthrown, ultimately leading to his deposition and death in Tafari became the regent under Empress Zewditu I, Iyasu's aunt, effectively wielding power in Ethiopia.

He pursued an active foreign policy, asserting Ethiopia's importance on the international stage. However, his domestic policies were perceived as cautious and conservative. Despite rhetoric about improving the lives of the Ethiopian people, little progress was made in addressing societal inequalities. He was born in a mud hut in Ejersa Gora on July 23, Originally named Lij Tafari Makonnen, he was the only surviving and legitimate son of Ras Makonnen, the governor of Harar.

Among his father's important allies was his cousin, Emperor Menelik II, who did not have a male heir to succeed him. Tafari seemed like a possible candidate when, following his father's death in , he was taken under the wing of Menelik. In , however, after the passing of Menelik II, it was the emperor's grandson, Lij Yasu, not Tafari, who was appointed as emperor.

But Yasu, who maintained a close association with Islam, never gained favor with Ethiopia's majority Christian population.

Haile selassie biography for kids

As a result Tafari became the face of the opposition, and in he took power from Lij Yasu and imprisoned him for life. The following year Menelik II's daughter, Zauditu, became empress, and Tafari was named regent and heir apparent to the throne. For a country trying to gain its foothold in the young century and curry favor with the West, the progressive Tafari came to symbolize the hopes and dreams of Ethiopia's younger population.

In he led Ethiopia into the League of Nations. The following year, he traveled to Europe, becoming the first Ethiopian ruler to go abroad. In the s, the late Emperor was granted a formal funeral. By followers of Rastafarianism , a religion which developed in s Jamaica under the influence of Marcus Mosiah Garvey 's "Back to Africa" movement, Haile Selassie is regarded as a messiah who will lead peoples of African descent to liberation.

Most Rastafarians believe that Selassie is still alive, and that his widely reported death was part of a conspiracy to discredit their religion. The Emperor himself, a devot Christian , was never very enthusiastic to his Rastafarian followers and remained quite indifferent to their beliefs. A state visit to Jamaica in the 70's in which Selassie was greeted by massive screaming crowds was reportedly somewhat unsettling for the monarch.