Prince Makonnen
Encyclopedia
Prince Makonnen Haile Selassie, Duke of Harar (baptismal name: Araya Yohannes; 16 October 1923–13 May 1957) was the second son, and second youngest child, of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and Empress Menen Asfaw
Menen Asfaw
Empress Menen Asfaw was the wife and consort of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. Empress Menen was the daughter of Asfaw, Jantirar of Ambassel...
. He was made Mesfin (or Duke) of Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
upon the coronation of his parents in 1930.
It was widely believed that Emperor Haile Selassie favored the Duke of Harar over all his other children, and it was even rumored 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 an automobile crash in 1957 on his way to the resort town of Adama
Adama
Adama , better known as Nazret or Nazreth , is a city in central Ethiopia and the previous capital of the Oromia Region. It is located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of Oromia, at at an elevation of 1712 meters, 99 km southeast of Addis Ababa...
from Debre Zeit, east of Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
. He was buried in the crypt of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.
Prince Makonnen's family
Prince Makonnen was married to Sara GizawSara Gizaw
Princess Sara Gizaw Duchess of Harrar is the widow of Prince Makonnen, Duke of Harrar and second son of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. She is the mother of five sons, Wossen Seged Makonnen, Mikael Makonnen, Tefferi Makonnen, Beede Mariam Makonnen and the late Dawit Makonnen...
, who became also a Princess and the Duchess of Harrar. Together they had five sons:
- HIH Prince Wossen Seged
- HIH Prince Mikael
- HIH Prince Dawit (known as Makonnen Makonnen)
- HIH Prince Taffari
- HIH Prince Beede Mariam.
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 Makonnen Makonnen (David) and Prince Taffari who were abroad at school. After a long and harsh imprisonment, Princess Sara was released by the Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
regime along with the other female members of the Imperial family in 1989. A year later, her sons were also released from their imprisonment. Unfortunately, just days before their release, Prince Makonnen, was found dead at his home in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
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 Duchess has now 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), the Emperor Haile Selassie, and the funeral for Princess Tenagnework
Princess Tenagnework
Princess Tenagnework Haile Selassie, DBE, baptismal name Fikirte Mariam of Ethiopia was the eldest child of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen Asfaw.-Early life:...
.
Honours and decorations
Prince Makonnen received numerous honours and decorations:- Grand Collar and Chain of the Order of SolomonOrder of SolomonThe Order of Solomon was an order of knighthood of the Ethiopian Empire.The Solomonic dynasty, the ancient Imperial House of Ethiopia, claims descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, said to have given birth to King Menelik I after her visit to Solomon in Jerusalem.As the Empire's...
- 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 IIOrder of Menelik IIThe Order of Menelik II is an Ethiopian order established in 1924 by Empress Zewditu I to honor the memory of Emperor Menelik II. It was often referred to as the Order of the Lion for the Lion depicted in the center of the red and green cross...
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia
- Imperial Coronation Medal in Gold (1930)
- Grand Cross of the Order of VasaOrder of VasaThe Royal Order of Vasa was a Swedish Royal 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 of Sweden...
of SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(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 Order of the SeraphimOrder of the SeraphimThe Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish Royal order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star...
of SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(1954) - Knight of the Order of the ElephantOrder of the ElephantThe Order of the Elephant is the highest order of Denmark. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in 1849, is now almost exclusively bestowed on royalty and heads of state.- History :A Danish religious...
of DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(1954) - Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic of SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(1954) - Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1954)
- Grand Cross of the Order of St Olav of NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(1954) - Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold IIOrder of Leopold IIThe Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Léopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as king of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system...
of BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(1954) - Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange of the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(1954) - Grand Cross of the Order of the PhoenixOrder of the PhoenixThe Order of the Phoenix is a fictional secret organisation in the Harry Potter series of books written by J. K. Rowling. Founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, the Order lends its name to the fifth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of...
of GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
(1954) - Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (1954)
- Order of the Yugoslav StarOrder of the Yugoslav StarOrder of the Yugoslav Star was the highest National order of merit awarded in Yugoslavia. It was divided into four classes. The highest class, the Yugoslav Great Star was the highest state decoration awarded in Yugoslavia...
, 1st class (1954) - Imperial Silver Jubilee Medal, 1st Class (1955)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the ChrysanthemumOrder of the Chrysanthemumis Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the collar of the Order was added on January 4, 1888. Although technically the order has only one class, it can either be awarded with collar , or with grand cordon...
of JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(1956) - Grand Cordon of the Order of the Star of Burma (1958, post.)
- Grand Cross of the Order of George IOrder of George IThe Royal Order of George I is a defunct order of Greece.- History :The order was founded in 1915 by King Constantine I in honor of his father, George I. It was only the second Greek order to be created after the Order of the Redeemer in 1833, and remained the second senior award of the Greek...
of Greece (1959, post.)