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The Forum: Haile Selassie: the last emperor of Ethiopia

Haile Selassie (centralised) Credit Henry Guttmann_Getty Images

05/03/2020 GMT

Haile Selassie: the last emperor of Ethiopia

BBC World Service - The Forum, Haile Selassie: the last emperor of Ethiopia

The life and legacy of the man who became ‘the Father of Africa’

Emperor Haile Selassie’s successes and failures during his long reign 
of Ethiopia. Bridget Kendall talks to Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Laura 
Hammond and Gerard Prunier.

Emperor Haile Selassie was the last in the line of Ethiopia’s ancient 
monarchy. During his long rule he was revered as an international 
statesman and reformer, demonised as a dictator, and even 
worshipped as a God incarnate by the Rastafarians of Jamaica. 
He was without doubt a controversial figure, but achieved a status in the global arena previously unheard of for an African ruler.

Bridget Kendall discusses Haile Selassie’s life and legacy with Prince 
Asfa-Wossen Asserate, political analyst and author of ‘King of Kings: 
The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia’, 
who is also the great-nephew of Haile Selassie; Gerard Prunier, 
Independent Consultant on Eastern and Central African affairs, and 
former Director of the French Centre for Ethiopian Studies in Addis
-Ababa; and Laura Hammond, an anthropologist specialising in 
Ethiopia at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of 
London.

Image: Haile Selassie
Credit: Henry Guttmann/Getty Images

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