Ethiopian Anniversary

On this day in 1930 Ras Tafari Makonnen was formally proclaimed as 'His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of kings, Lord of lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and Elect of God' or Emperor of Ethiopia. During his reign Haile Selassie, who would prove to be the last Emperor of Ethiopia, presided over new efforts to modernize the country as well as dealing with the Italian invasion and the incorporation of Ethiopia into Italian East Africa with the King in Rome proclaimed Emperor in his place. In time the Allies drove out the Italians and Haile Selassie was restored and tried to make Ethiopia a moral leader for the other newly independent nations of Africa. In the end he was overthrown by communist revolutionaries in 1974 and died a year later, most likely murdered by his political enemies. April 2, 1930 would be the last time (to date) that Ethiopia acknowledged a new Emperor. Hopefully, that record will not stand and the day will come when the Solomonic dynasty is restored to its rightful place on the imperial throne.