Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam
Encyclopedia
Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam (Amharic: ተክለ ሐዋርዓት ተክለ ማርያም; June 1884 – April 1977) was an Ethiopia
n politician and intellectual of russophile. He was the primary author of Ethiopia
's July 16, 1931 constitution
, which was influenced by the Japan
ese Meiji Constitution
.
, after the initial stages of a traditional Ethiopian education at a local church Tekle Hawariat moved to Harar
at the age of nine to live with a relative who was a retainer of Ras Makonnen Woldemikael. He accompanied the Ras against the Italians in 1895-6. It was during the First Italo-Ethiopian War that his mentor Ras Makonnen entrusted him to a head of the Russian military mission, Count Abai Nikolai Leontiev, to take him back to Russia and have him educated . But historian-anglophile Bahru Zewde has other version by naming him the member of the mission of red cross, but to the Leontiev is not mentioned as member of mission because is mentioned as military expert, in the book of member of mission of the Russian red cross, the Alexander Bulatovich
. He arrived to Saint Petersburg in 1901, where he studied artillery at the Saint Petersburg
military academy, so Ivan Grave
, also known as father of Katyusha, became professor for the Tekle Hawariat. He was befriended by a number of prominent Russian liberals of the day, including Princess Volkonsky, daughter of the famous Decembrist revolutionary Sergei Volkonsky, and spent altogether 17 years in Russia
. Once he returned to Ethiopia, however, Tekle Hawariat became famous as provincial governor, agronomist, and for his part in writing Ethiopia's first constitution. Tekle Hawariat was an important government official during the reign of Iyasu V
, although he played a part in Iyasu's depostion of 27 September 1916. Despite his support for the new ruler, Empress Zauditu
, during her reign he wrote and produced a play, "Fabula: Yawreoch Commedia", which used animal characters to criticize the corruption and backwardness of the Ethiopian court. As a result the Empress banned all further theatre in Ethiopia, an order that was later lifted by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1930.
Under the patronage of Haile Selassie (then the regent Ras Tafari), Tekle Hawariat first was made governor of Jijiga
in 1917, and his efforts at this post gave him "a reputation for enlightened administration," according to Bahru Zewde, who goes on to note that "much of the credit for the transformation of Jijjiga from a garrison town to a modern urban centre goes to Takla-Hawaryat". Despite this good work, Tekle Hawariat either quit or was removed from this post: Tekle Hawariat in his unpublished autobiography claims Ras Tafari kept reappointing people he had dismissed for inefficiency. After a few years of idleness, Tekle Hawariat was appointed to another governorship, to the province of Charchar, one of the provinces Tafari was developing as a model of progressive or modern government; however, although he displayed enterprise and a dedication to duty, Tekle Hawariat had an independent character that led him to conflict with the Regent, and despite the demonstration of his skill at governor of Chercher province, because of his early Russian connections due to a Bolshevik
panic that had gripped the capital, in 1928 Tekle Hawariat, was arrested and kept in jail for some time.
After becoming Emperor, Haile Selassie found another use for Tekle Hawariat: he was given the duty of drafting the first Constitution of Ethiopia. Bahru Zewde comments that Tekle Hawariat "could be said to have been waiting almost all his life for just an occasion"; however, his draft was subjected to close scrutiny by the Emperor and his associates Ras Kasa and Heruy Welde Sellase, who modified Tekle Hawariat's text "to meet imperial needs." Changes included the legislative powers granted to the parliament were reduced, and instead of Tekle Hawariat's proposal that the deputies be elected the final draft made them appointed.
Three months after the promulgation of the constitution, Tekle Hawariat was made Minister of Finance
, but he lasted in that office barely more than a year. Bahru Zewde believes the reason for this brief tenure was due to his efforts to make the office efficient and responsible, which led to inevitable conflicts not only with traditional-minded ministers, but with the Emperor himself who did not care to make a distinction between the public purse and the private accounts of the emperor. "Given the acrimonious relations with the palace," notes Bahru Zewde, "it is not much of a surprise that Takla-Hawaryat next found himself posted as Ethiopian minister to London, Paris, and Geneva."
Tekle Hawariat had been part of the group who accompanied Haile Selassie to Europe in 1924, so although he could have been chosen for these duties because of his qualifications, Bahru Zewde insists "the evidence is too strong for this being more a case of removing from centre stage a character who was too independent and self-willed for the emperor's taste." His most important posting was representing Ethiopia at the League of Nations
for many years, most notably at the sessions during the Walwal Incident. However, the uncooperative attitudes of not only the British and French delegates frustrated him so much he asked Emperor Haile Selassie to be relieved so he could return to Ethiopia where he could be of better use using his military training to organize his country's defenses against the unavoidable conflict.
Tekle Hawariat crossed paths with his Emperor one last time, while the other was leaving Ethiopia to make a personal appeal to the League of Nations. When Haile Selassie and his entourage reached Mieso
, he was there with his troops; Tekle Hawariat boarded the train. As John Spencer tersely states, "The encounter must have been a bitter one." Spencer happened to be aboard the train five days later which stopped at Afdem
, where Tekle Hawariat boarded train and entered Spencer's compartment. "Although I must have been for him an almost complete stranger, he lost no time unburdening himself to me of his thoughts about Haile Selassie, whom he denounced as a traitor to Ethiopia, a coward, and one unworthy to bear the title of Emperor after his flight into exile."
Once he reached Djibouti
, he sought an agricultural concession, but the local authorities politely refused him. Tekle Hawariat then moved to Aden
, where in September 1937 he petitioned the colonial government in Kenya to resettle there. The authorities refused his request, concerned that his presence would encourage unrest against the Italians. According to Bahru Zewde, Haile Selassie's victorious return to Ethiopia found his one-time ambassador in Madagascar where he prolonged his exile until 1955/56, and upon returning to Ethiopia Tekle Hawariat "retired to the obscurity of a gentleman-farmer's life in Hirna
, Hararge
."
, and Akalework Habte-Wold -- who became prominent in Ethiopian political life.
The sons of Tekle Hawariat include Germachew Tekle-Hawariat (died 1987). Educated in Switzerland, Germachew served as a diplomat after Haile Selassie's restoration in 1941, as well as being a noted author, whose works include the novel Araya and a play based on the life of the 19th century Ethiopian emperor Tewodros I
.
Princess Elena Volkonsky raised Tekle Hawariat, because he was adopted by her oldest son Colonel Manchanov, who never married. Tekle Hawariat considered her his grandmother and has stated this in his biography. Tekle Hawariat loved Russia and his russian family. He kept in touch with them even after the Russian Revolution. One of his aunts took refuge in Ethiopia and stayed with the Tekle Hawariat family in Hirna, where he was Governor of Chercher. All this information is in his biography that was published in Amahric.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n politician and intellectual of russophile. He was the primary author of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
's July 16, 1931 constitution
1931 Constitution of Ethiopia
The 1931 Constitution of Ethiopia was the first document intended as a modern constitution for that country. It was promulgated in "an impressive ceremony" held 16 July 1931 in the presence of Emperor Haile Selassie, who had long desired to proclaim one for his country.In the preface to his...
, which was influenced by the Japan
Japan
Japan 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...
ese Meiji Constitution
Meiji Constitution
The ', known informally as the ', was the organic law of the Japanese empire, in force from November 29, 1890 until May 2, 1947.-Outline:...
.
Life
Bahru Zewde includes Tekle Hawariat in the first generation of Ethiopians sent abroad for his education. Born in ShewaShewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
, after the initial stages of a traditional Ethiopian education at a local church Tekle Hawariat moved to Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
at the age of nine to live with a relative who was a retainer of Ras Makonnen Woldemikael. He accompanied the Ras against the Italians in 1895-6. It was during the First Italo-Ethiopian War that his mentor Ras Makonnen entrusted him to a head of the Russian military mission, Count Abai Nikolai Leontiev, to take him back to Russia and have him educated . But historian-anglophile Bahru Zewde has other version by naming him the member of the mission of red cross, but to the Leontiev is not mentioned as member of mission because is mentioned as military expert, in the book of member of mission of the Russian red cross, the Alexander Bulatovich
Alexander Bulatovich
Alexander Ksaverievich Bulatovich tonsured Father Antony was a Russian military officer, explorer of Africa, writer, hieromonk and the leader of imiaslavie movement in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.-Biography:...
. He arrived to Saint Petersburg in 1901, where he studied artillery at the Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
military academy, so Ivan Grave
Ivan Grave
Ivan Platonovich Grave was a Russian and Soviet scientist in the field of artillery, Doctor of Technical Sciences , professor , member of the Academy of Artillery Sciences , Major General of the Engineer Corps .Ivan Grave graduated from the Mikhailovskoye Artillery School...
, also known as father of Katyusha, became professor for the Tekle Hawariat. He was befriended by a number of prominent Russian liberals of the day, including Princess Volkonsky, daughter of the famous Decembrist revolutionary Sergei Volkonsky, and spent altogether 17 years in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Once he returned to Ethiopia, however, Tekle Hawariat became famous as provincial governor, agronomist, and for his part in writing Ethiopia's first constitution. Tekle Hawariat was an important government official during the reign of Iyasu V
Iyasu V of Ethiopia
Iyasu V , also known as Lij Iyasu was the designated but uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia . His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob...
, although he played a part in Iyasu's depostion of 27 September 1916. Despite his support for the new ruler, Empress Zauditu
Zauditu of Ethiopia
Zewditu was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930. The first woman head of an internationally recognized state in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, she was noted for opposing the reforms of Tafari Makonnen and for her strong religious devotion.-Early...
, during her reign he wrote and produced a play, "Fabula: Yawreoch Commedia", which used animal characters to criticize the corruption and backwardness of the Ethiopian court. As a result the Empress banned all further theatre in Ethiopia, an order that was later lifted by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1930.
Under the patronage of Haile Selassie (then the regent Ras Tafari), Tekle Hawariat first was made governor of Jijiga
Jijiga
Jijiga is a city in eastern Ethiopia and the capital of the Somali Region of that country. Located in the Jijiga Zone approximately 80 km east of Harar and 60 km west of the border with Somalia, this city has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1,609 meters above sea...
in 1917, and his efforts at this post gave him "a reputation for enlightened administration," according to Bahru Zewde, who goes on to note that "much of the credit for the transformation of Jijjiga from a garrison town to a modern urban centre goes to Takla-Hawaryat". Despite this good work, Tekle Hawariat either quit or was removed from this post: Tekle Hawariat in his unpublished autobiography claims Ras Tafari kept reappointing people he had dismissed for inefficiency. After a few years of idleness, Tekle Hawariat was appointed to another governorship, to the province of Charchar, one of the provinces Tafari was developing as a model of progressive or modern government; however, although he displayed enterprise and a dedication to duty, Tekle Hawariat had an independent character that led him to conflict with the Regent, and despite the demonstration of his skill at governor of Chercher province, because of his early Russian connections due to a Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
panic that had gripped the capital, in 1928 Tekle Hawariat, was arrested and kept in jail for some time.
After becoming Emperor, Haile Selassie found another use for Tekle Hawariat: he was given the duty of drafting the first Constitution of Ethiopia. Bahru Zewde comments that Tekle Hawariat "could be said to have been waiting almost all his life for just an occasion"; however, his draft was subjected to close scrutiny by the Emperor and his associates Ras Kasa and Heruy Welde Sellase, who modified Tekle Hawariat's text "to meet imperial needs." Changes included the legislative powers granted to the parliament were reduced, and instead of Tekle Hawariat's proposal that the deputies be elected the final draft made them appointed.
Three months after the promulgation of the constitution, Tekle Hawariat was made Minister of Finance
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is the Ethiopian government ministry which is responsible for general financial policy and for general management of the economy of Ethiopia, in addition to the allocation of economic aid...
, but he lasted in that office barely more than a year. Bahru Zewde believes the reason for this brief tenure was due to his efforts to make the office efficient and responsible, which led to inevitable conflicts not only with traditional-minded ministers, but with the Emperor himself who did not care to make a distinction between the public purse and the private accounts of the emperor. "Given the acrimonious relations with the palace," notes Bahru Zewde, "it is not much of a surprise that Takla-Hawaryat next found himself posted as Ethiopian minister to London, Paris, and Geneva."
Tekle Hawariat had been part of the group who accompanied Haile Selassie to Europe in 1924, so although he could have been chosen for these duties because of his qualifications, Bahru Zewde insists "the evidence is too strong for this being more a case of removing from centre stage a character who was too independent and self-willed for the emperor's taste." His most important posting was representing Ethiopia at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
for many years, most notably at the sessions during the Walwal Incident. However, the uncooperative attitudes of not only the British and French delegates frustrated him so much he asked Emperor Haile Selassie to be relieved so he could return to Ethiopia where he could be of better use using his military training to organize his country's defenses against the unavoidable conflict.
Tekle Hawariat crossed paths with his Emperor one last time, while the other was leaving Ethiopia to make a personal appeal to the League of Nations. When Haile Selassie and his entourage reached Mieso
Mieso
Mieso is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1394 meters above sea level.- Overview :...
, he was there with his troops; Tekle Hawariat boarded the train. As John Spencer tersely states, "The encounter must have been a bitter one." Spencer happened to be aboard the train five days later which stopped at Afdem
Afdem
Āfdem is a town is east central Ethiopia. Located in the Shinile Zone of the Somali Region. It is the administrative center of Afdem woreda.Āfdem lies at the base of its namesake Mount Afdem, a volcanic cone with a denuded caldera...
, where Tekle Hawariat boarded train and entered Spencer's compartment. "Although I must have been for him an almost complete stranger, he lost no time unburdening himself to me of his thoughts about Haile Selassie, whom he denounced as a traitor to Ethiopia, a coward, and one unworthy to bear the title of Emperor after his flight into exile."
Once he reached Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, he sought an agricultural concession, but the local authorities politely refused him. Tekle Hawariat then moved to Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
, where in September 1937 he petitioned the colonial government in Kenya to resettle there. The authorities refused his request, concerned that his presence would encourage unrest against the Italians. According to Bahru Zewde, Haile Selassie's victorious return to Ethiopia found his one-time ambassador in Madagascar where he prolonged his exile until 1955/56, and upon returning to Ethiopia Tekle Hawariat "retired to the obscurity of a gentleman-farmer's life in Hirna
Hirna
Hirna is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Hararghe Zone, it has a latitude and longitude of and an altitude of 1763 meters above sea level. It is the larger of the two towns in Tulo woreda.-Overview:...
, Hararge
Hararghe
Hararghe was a province in the eastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital in Harar. Including Ethiopia's part of the Ogaden, Haraghe was bounded on the south by Sidamo, southwest by Arsi, west by Shewa, northwest by Wollo, northeast by French Somaliland, and on the east by Somalia.Hararghe came...
."
Further details
Paul Henze credits Tekle Hawariat with introducing to Haile Selassie to the three Habtewold brothers -- Makonnen Habte-Wold, Aklilu Habte-WoldAklilu Habte-Wold
Tsehafi Taezaz Aklilu Habte-Wold was an Ethiopian politician under Emperor Haile Selassie. He was foreign minister of Ethiopia from 1947 to 1958 and Prime Minister from 1961 until shortly before his death....
, and Akalework Habte-Wold -- who became prominent in Ethiopian political life.
The sons of Tekle Hawariat include Germachew Tekle-Hawariat (died 1987). Educated in Switzerland, Germachew served as a diplomat after Haile Selassie's restoration in 1941, as well as being a noted author, whose works include the novel Araya and a play based on the life of the 19th century Ethiopian emperor Tewodros I
Tewodros II of Ethiopia
Tewodros II was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death....
.
Princess Elena Volkonsky raised Tekle Hawariat, because he was adopted by her oldest son Colonel Manchanov, who never married. Tekle Hawariat considered her his grandmother and has stated this in his biography. Tekle Hawariat loved Russia and his russian family. He kept in touch with them even after the Russian Revolution. One of his aunts took refuge in Ethiopia and stayed with the Tekle Hawariat family in Hirna, where he was Governor of Chercher. All this information is in his biography that was published in Amahric.