Prince Makonnen Haile Selassie, Duke of Harar ( baptismal name: ''Araya Yohannes''; 16 October 1924 – 13 May 1957) was the second son, and second-youngest child, of Emperor

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

of Ethiopia and Empress Menen Asfaw. He was made ''Mesfin'' (or Duke) of

Harar Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...

upon the coronation of his parents in 1930.

Prince Makonnen's family

Prince Makonnen was married to

Sara Gizaw Princess Sara Gizaw, Duchess of Harar (1 January 1929 – 17 February 2019) was the widow of Prince Makonnen, Duke ('' Mesfin'') of Harar and second son of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. Biography Princess Sara was born on 1 January 1929 ...

, who also became a Princess and the Duchess of Harar. Together they had five sons, all of whom are entitled to the style of '' Imperial Highness'': * Prince (''Leul'') Paul Wossen Seged, Duke of Harar (Addis Ababa, 21 August 1947 – 10 November 2021). Married 19 March 1995 to Connie Jo Quave, (b. 30 September 1957) * Prince (''Leul'') Mikael (b. Addis Ababa, 30 January 1950). Married to Princess Asrat Amaha Yesus. * Prince (''Leul'') Dawit (b. Addis Ababa, 30 January 1952-Nyon, Switzerland, 26 August 1989). Married 16 April 1974 to Princess Adey-Abeba Imru Makonnen (b. 11 March 1951, elder daughter of H.E. ''Lij'' Imru Zelleke, Ambassador to Germany and Minister of State, and his wife ''Woizero'' Martha Nasibu, later '' Marchesa'' Francesco Tortora Brayda di Belvedere, daughter of H.E. General ''Ras'' Nasibu Zamanuel, Minister of War), and had two sons: ** Prince (''Leul'') Yokshan Dawit Makonnen (b. Vero Beach, Florida, 8 February 1978) ** Prince (''Leul'')

Joel Dawit Makonnen Prince Joel David Makonnen Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (''Yoel Dawit Makonnen Haile Selassie''; born 5 May 1982) is an Italian-born Ethiopian attorney, businessman, philanthropist, writer, and member of the Ethiopian Imperial House of Solomon. H ...

(b. Rome, 5 May 1982). Married 9 September 2017 to Ariana Austin (b. Washington, 6 January 1986) * Prince (''Leul'') Fileppos Tafari Makonnen (Prince Philip Makonnen) (b. Addis Ababa, 15 June 1954). Educ in the UK, living in USA. Married 19 July 1990 to Princess Aster Abitow Makonnen (b. Addis Ababa, 1 February 1968), and had two sons and one daughter: ** Prince (''Leul'') Dawit Tafari Makonnen (b. Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1992) ** Prince (''Leul'') Isayas Tafari Makonnen (b. Toronto, 1998) ** Princess (''Leult'') Edna Tafari Makonnen. Married 30 April 2022 to Jamal Akil Robinson * Prince (''Leul'') Beede Mariam (b. Addis Ababa, 30 March 1957). Married to Princess Mahelate Be'eda Mariam and had one daughter: ** Princess (''Leult'') Blaine Be'eda Mariam In addition, Prince Makonnen also had a natural daughter, ''Woizero'' Meheret Makonnen, born before 1945. In 1974, with the overthrow of the Ethiopian monarchy, the widowed Duchess of Harar and her sons were all placed under detention, with the exception of Prince Taffari who were abroad at school. After a long and harsh imprisonment, Princess Sara was released by the

Derg The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " ...

regime along with the other female members of the Imperial family in 1989. A year later, her sons were also released from their imprisonment. Days before their release, Prince Dawit Makonnen was found dead at his home in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. After the fall of the Derg regime, Princess Sara and her sons were allowed to travel abroad. And after a number of years living in London, the returned to live in Addis Ababa. The Duchess of Harar was prominent at the Imperial funerals held for her brother-in-law, the Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen (also known as Emperor-in-Exile Amha Selassie I), the Emperor

Haile Selassie I Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia ('' ...

, and the funeral for Princess Tenagnework. She died in 2019.

Death

It was widely believed that Emperor Haile Selassie favoured the Duke of Harar over all his other children, and it was even rumoured that the Emperor even considered naming Makonnen as his heir, instead of his liberal elder son, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen. However, Prince Makonnen died in a car crash in 1957 on his way to the resort town of

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

from

Debre Zeyit Bishoftu (; ) is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it sits at an elevation of 1,920 metres (6,300 ft). It was formerly known as Debre Zeyit () however since the late 1990s it has been officially ...

, east of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. He was buried in the crypt of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.

Honours and decorations

Prince Makonnen received numerous honors and decorations: *Grand Collar and Chain of the Order of Solomon *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Seal of Solomon *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Holy Trinity *Grand Cordon of the

Order of Menelik II The Imperial Order of Emperor Menelik II is an Ethiopian order established in 1924 by then-Regent Tafari Makonnen, during the reign of Empress Zewditu I, in order to honor the memory of Emperor Menelik II. The Imperial Order was often referred t ...

*Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Star of Ethiopia The Order of the Star of Ethiopia was established as an order of knighthood of the Ethiopian Empire, founded by the Negus of Shoa and later Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II in 1884–1885. It is currently awarded as a house order by the Crown Coun ...

*Imperial Coronation Medal in Gold (1930) *Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

(1935) *St George Medal of War *Haile Selassie I Medal of War *Haile Selassie Gold Medal *Star of Victory (1944) *Exile Medal with five torches (1945) *Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim of

(1954) *Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(1954) *Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

(1954) *Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(1954) *Grand Cross of the Order of St Olav of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

(1954) *Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

(1954) *Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(1954) *Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

(1954) * Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (1954) *

Order of the Yugoslav Star The Order of the Yugoslav Star sr, Орден југословенске звезде, ''Orden jugoslovenske zvezde'' sl, Red jugoslovanske zvezde mk, Орден на југословенската ѕвезда, ''Orden na jugoslovenskata zvezda'' ...

, 1st class (1954) *Imperial Silver Jubilee Medal, 1st Class (1955) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

(1956) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Star of Burma (1958, post.) *Grand Cross of the

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I ( el, Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is a Greek order instituted by King Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek ...

(1959, post.)

Ancestry

References

External links

* https://www.britannica.com/biography/Haile-Selassie-I * https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-36211381 {{DEFAULTSORT:Makonnen, Prince 1924 births 1957 deaths Ethiopian princes Solomonic dynasty Road incident deaths in Ethiopia Burials at Holy Trinity Cathedral (Addis Ababa) Sons of emperors