Imru Haile Selassie
Encyclopedia
Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie (Amharic: ዕምሩ፡ኃይለ፡ሥላሴ; November 1892 – August 1980) was an Ethiopia
n noble, soldier, and diplomat. He was also the cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Province, Imru was the childhood friend of his cousin (Imru's mother was Haile Selassie's first cousin); both were tutored together under Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin
, and were raised by Imru's father Haile Selassie Abayneh, whom Harold Marcus describes as the Emperor's "real father", asserting that "Makonnen's son recalled the surrogate with affection, whereas he invariably referred to his father with formality and deference." Both Imru and his father accompanied the future ruler to his first governorship in Sidamo
. In 1916/17 Imru, by then a Dejazmach, was appointed Shum (Governor
) of Harar
province by his cousin. In 1928, Imru was appointed Shum of Wollo
province when Gugsa Welle
failed to end a smoldering rebellion there.
In 1932, Imru was promoted to Ras and made ruler of Gojjam
province. Imru replaced Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot
, who had been convicted of treason
for allegedly helping the deposed Lij Iyasu escape, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Upon arriving in Gojjam, Imru was immediately faced with a revolt by Fitawrari Admassu, a natural son of the imprisoned Ras, who on 30 September briefly held Debre Marqos
; not long afterwards Admassu ended his revolt, sending messengers to the Emperor to ask for pardon. Nevertheless, despite numerous reforms and efforts to modernize the province, which enriched both the producers and traders, Imru found few friends in Gojjam and "was invariably viewed as an outsider, the emperor's agent, and, unable to rule by consensus, he governed by force."
From October 1935, Imru led his provincial army and commanded the Army of the Left in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
. His early offensive
deep into the Italian rear threatened the Italian advance. Ultimately Imru was stopped and his army was destroyed
by the use of poison gas dropped from the air.
In May 1936, Haile Selassie appointed his cousin as Prince Regent
in his absence, departing Ethiopia with his family to present the case of Ethiopia to the League of Nations
at Geneva
. Ras Imru fell back to Gore
in southern Ethiopia to reorganize and continue to resist the Italians. For this to have worked, he needed the revenue of the gold
mines of Asosa
, but the loyal Sheikh Hojali was driven out in July 1936 by rebellious Welega Oromo
, who also made Ras Imru's position in Gore untenable, and he retreated to the southeast. The Italians followed him, and pinned him down on the north bank of the Gojeb River
, where he surrendered December 19, 1936. He was flown to Italy and imprisoned on the Island of Ponza
until freed after the formal surrender of Italy in September 1943.
After the war Ras Imru was appointed a Crown Councilor and served as Ambassador to India
, the United States
, and the Soviet Union
. Always a man of modernist and reformist views, as well as deeply religious Ras Imru increasingly began to lean towards a left of center political stance that would probably have had him classified as a socialist in the western European sense. Both he and his son Mikael Imru
became advocates for land reform
, and he went as far as distributing his own extensive estates to his tenant farmers. Due to these political views, Ras Imru was nicknamed "the Red Ras" by many contemporaries. Regardless of his leftist sympathies, Ras Imru remained a confidant of the Emperor and a monarchist. However, when the Derg
deposed Emperor Haile Selassie in September 1974, they asked Ras Imru to accompany them to the Emperor's palace in order to witness the act. Eyewitness accounts relate that the Ras was visibly distressed as the members of the Derg announced to the Emperor that he was deposed and that they required him to accompany them to his place of detention. The Emperor and Ras Imru had a whispered conversation after which the Emperor agreed to go peacefully. The Ras then asked to be allowed to accompany the Emperor to wherever the soldiers were taking him, and became distraught when permission was refused. The members then assured the Prince that he could come to see the Emperor later in the day. It is believed that the Derg did not want to subject Ras Imru to the insults and humiliation that were directed at the Emperor by Derg sympathisers as he was driven away fromt the palace.
After his death in August 1980, Ras Imru became the only member of the Imperial dynasty to be given a state funeral by the Derg
. Television and radio announcements of his death accorded him his full titles of Prince, Ras, and the dignity of "His Highness" even though the Derg had abolished all Imperial titles in 1974. He was publicly and officially eulogized as a former Prince Regent
, a distinguished diplomat, an early progressive, and a leader of the resistance against the Italian occupation. No mention was made of his blood ties to the Imperial family or his life long close association with the late Emperor.
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 noble, soldier, and diplomat. He was also the cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Biography
Born in ShewaShewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
Province, Imru was the childhood friend of his cousin (Imru's mother was Haile Selassie's first cousin); both were tutored together under Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin
Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin
Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin was the tutor and mentor of Ras Tafari Makonnen and his cousin, Ras Imru Haile Selassie, when the two were children living at Harar, ca...
, and were raised by Imru's father Haile Selassie Abayneh, whom Harold Marcus describes as the Emperor's "real father", asserting that "Makonnen's son recalled the surrogate with affection, whereas he invariably referred to his father with formality and deference." Both Imru and his father accompanied the future ruler to his first governorship in Sidamo
Sidamo
Sidamo may refer to the following:*Sidamo Province, Ethiopia*The Sidamo language*The Sidamo or Sidama people*Ethiopian Sidamo, a single origin variety of coffee from Ethiopia...
. In 1916/17 Imru, by then a Dejazmach, was appointed Shum (Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
) of Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
province by his cousin. In 1928, Imru was appointed Shum of Wollo
Wollo
Wollo was a historical region and province in the northeastern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Dessie. The province was named after the Wollo Oromo, who settled in this part of Ethiopia in the 17th century...
province when Gugsa Welle
Gugsa Welle
Gugsa Welle , also known as Gugsa Wolie and Gugsa Wele, was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite which was often at odds with the Ethiopian central government.Gugsa Welle was born in Marto in Yejju Province...
failed to end a smoldering rebellion there.
In 1932, Imru was promoted to Ras and made ruler of Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
province. Imru replaced Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot
Hailu Tekle Haymanot
Hailu Tekle Haymanot, KBE , also named Hailu II of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite who were often at odds with the Ethiopian central government...
, who had been convicted of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
for allegedly helping the deposed Lij Iyasu escape, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Upon arriving in Gojjam, Imru was immediately faced with a revolt by Fitawrari Admassu, a natural son of the imprisoned Ras, who on 30 September briefly held Debre Marqos
Debre Marqos
Debre Marqos is a city and woreda in east-central Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region, it has a latitude and longitude of , and an elevation of 2,446 meters. The city is named Debre Marqos after its principal church, which was constructed in 1869 and dedicated to St....
; not long afterwards Admassu ended his revolt, sending messengers to the Emperor to ask for pardon. Nevertheless, despite numerous reforms and efforts to modernize the province, which enriched both the producers and traders, Imru found few friends in Gojjam and "was invariably viewed as an outsider, the emperor's agent, and, unable to rule by consensus, he governed by force."
From October 1935, Imru led his provincial army and commanded the Army of the Left in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
. His early offensive
Ethiopian Christmas Offensive
The Ethiopian Christmas Offensive took place during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The Ethiopian offensive was more of a counteroffensive to an ever slowing Italian offensive which started the war.-Background:...
deep into the Italian rear threatened the Italian advance. Ultimately Imru was stopped and his army was destroyed
Battle of Shire
The Battle of Shire was a battle fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This battle consisted of attacks and counterattacks by Italian forces under Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio and Ethiopian forces under Ras Imru Haile Selassie...
by the use of poison gas dropped from the air.
In May 1936, Haile Selassie appointed his cousin as Prince Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
in his absence, departing Ethiopia with his family to present the case of Ethiopia to 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...
at Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. Ras Imru fell back to Gore
Gore, Ethiopia
Gore is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located south of Metu in the Illubabor Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2085 meters....
in southern Ethiopia to reorganize and continue to resist the Italians. For this to have worked, he needed the revenue of the gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
mines of Asosa
Asosa
Asosa is a town in western Ethiopia and the capital of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Asosa Zone, this town has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 1570 meters....
, but the loyal Sheikh Hojali was driven out in July 1936 by rebellious Welega Oromo
Welega Oromo
Welega is a branch of the Oromo people who live in Ethiopia in the former Welega Province; a few live across the border in Sudan. They speak West Central Oromo, a dialect of the Oromo language....
, who also made Ras Imru's position in Gore untenable, and he retreated to the southeast. The Italians followed him, and pinned him down on the north bank of the Gojeb River
Gojeb River
The Gojeb River is eastward-flowing tributary of the Omo River in Ethiopia. It rises in the mountains of Guma, flowing in almost a direct line its confluence with the Omo at....
, where he surrendered December 19, 1936. He was flown to Italy and imprisoned on the Island of Ponza
Ponza
Ponza is the largest of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located 33 km south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in the Lazio region....
until freed after the formal surrender of Italy in September 1943.
After the war Ras Imru was appointed a Crown Councilor and served as Ambassador to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Always a man of modernist and reformist views, as well as deeply religious Ras Imru increasingly began to lean towards a left of center political stance that would probably have had him classified as a socialist in the western European sense. Both he and his son Mikael Imru
Mikael Imru
Lij Mikael Imru was Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 3 August to 12 September 1974.Born in Addis Ababa, Mikael Imru was the only son of Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie and Princess Tsige Mariam Beshah; he had seven sisters...
became advocates for land reform
Land reform in Ethiopia
The problem of Land reform in Ethiopia has hampered that country's economic development throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. Attempts to modernize land ownership by giving title either to the peasants who till the soil, or to large-scale farming programs, have been tried under imperial...
, and he went as far as distributing his own extensive estates to his tenant farmers. Due to these political views, Ras Imru was nicknamed "the Red Ras" by many contemporaries. Regardless of his leftist sympathies, Ras Imru remained a confidant of the Emperor and a monarchist. However, when 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...
deposed Emperor Haile Selassie in September 1974, they asked Ras Imru to accompany them to the Emperor's palace in order to witness the act. Eyewitness accounts relate that the Ras was visibly distressed as the members of the Derg announced to the Emperor that he was deposed and that they required him to accompany them to his place of detention. The Emperor and Ras Imru had a whispered conversation after which the Emperor agreed to go peacefully. The Ras then asked to be allowed to accompany the Emperor to wherever the soldiers were taking him, and became distraught when permission was refused. The members then assured the Prince that he could come to see the Emperor later in the day. It is believed that the Derg did not want to subject Ras Imru to the insults and humiliation that were directed at the Emperor by Derg sympathisers as he was driven away fromt the palace.
After his death in August 1980, Ras Imru became the only member of the Imperial dynasty to be given a state funeral 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...
. Television and radio announcements of his death accorded him his full titles of Prince, Ras, and the dignity of "His Highness" even though the Derg had abolished all Imperial titles in 1974. He was publicly and officially eulogized as a former Prince Regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
, a distinguished diplomat, an early progressive, and a leader of the resistance against the Italian occupation. No mention was made of his blood ties to the Imperial family or his life long close association with the late Emperor.