Zera Yacob Amha Selassie
Head of the Imperial House of Ethiopia
Tenure17 February 1997 – present
PredecessorHaile Selassie
as Emperor of Ethiopia
Amha Selassie
as Emperor-in-exile of Ethiopia
Heir-PresumptivePrince Mikael, Duke of Harar
Born (1953-08-17) 17 August 1953
Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire
SpouseNunu Getaneh (divorced)
IssuePrincess Lideta
DynastyHouse of Solomon
FatherAmha Selassie
MotherMedferiashwork Abebe
ReligionEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo

Zera Yacob Amha Selassie (/ˈzɪərə jæˈkoʊb/; Geʽez: ዘርዐ ያዕቆብ አምሃ ሥላሴ; born 17 August 1953) is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie and son of Amha Selassie of the Ethiopian Empire. He has been head of the Imperial House of Ethiopia since 17 February 1997 as recognized by the Crown Council of Ethiopia.

He was designated as "acting crown prince" and heir presumptive in 1974 by the Emperor Haile Selassie I close to the end of his reign; however, the Empire was overthrown in the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution by the Derg. As a result, Yacob never became a ruling Emperor of Ethiopia. Ethiopia became a Federal Democratic Republic in 1991.

Biography

Zera Yacob attended Eton College and graduated from Exeter College, Oxford and Sandhurst.[1] He was named Acting Crown Prince and heir presumptive to the Imperial throne of Ethiopia in 1974 by his grandfather, Emperor Haile Selassie, following his father's stroke a year earlier.[2]

After the fall of the Ethiopian monarchy, Zera Yacob completed his studies at Oxford in the 1970s and worked briefly as a banker in the United States. He then moved to London and was married to Princess Nunu (née Getaneh), and later divorced. The marriage produced a daughter, Princess Lideta. He was named heir apparent by his father, who assumed the title of Emperor-in-exile at that time in April 1989 in London.

In 1992 he accompanied his father Amha Selassie to Virginia, United States, where his father had a medical check-up. However, his father suffered a stroke and Zera Yacob stayed for two years. He then applied for a visa following his father's death in 1997. He had returned to London, England, where he had settled in a modest home on the Isle of Dogs.[1]

Yacob has been the Executive Director of the Ethiopian Peace Foundation (EPF) since 2002.

Crown Prince Zera Yacob is regarded as head of the Imperial Family of Ethiopia. He lives in Addis Ababa.

Honours

Zera Yacob is the sovereign of the Imperial Ethiopian Order of Saint Mary of Zion and bestows awards to individuals for their outstanding service to the people of Ethiopia.

Honours Yacob has received include:

Ancestry

References

  1. 1 2 Cusick, James (23 October 2011). "Lost: one Lion Emperor, last seen in the Isle of Dogs". The Independent on Sunday. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. ↑ Charles Mohr (15 April 1974). "Haile Selassie Designates a Grandson as Eventual Successor". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Connaissance des Religions > Sommaires - 1985-1994". Cdr.religion.info. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Imperial House
  5. ↑ Guidance for Honours in the De Jure Kingdom of Rwanda
  6. ↑ Studylib
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