Girma Yohannis Iyasu
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Prince (Abeto Lij) Girma Yohannis Iyasu Menelik (born 1961) is the Iyasuist claimant to the abolished throne of Ethiopia.
He is the son of Lij Yohannes Iyasu and his wife Woizero Kibre Zewde. Through his father Lij Girma is a grandson of Iyasu V of Ethiopia, Emperor from 1913 until 1916 when he was deposed. Iyasu was the son of King Mikael of Wollo, and matrilineal grandson of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. Prince Girma received his education in the United Kingdom and Germany. He has also worked at the University of Bremen as a professor and researcher.
Lij Girma claims that all the governments in Ethiopia since the 1916 deposition of his grandfather are illegitimate, and as such, as a grandson of Lij Iyasu, he claims to be the rightful monarch of Ethiopia. This is not based on any constitutional procedure, since Ethiopia did not receive its first modern constitution addressing order of succession until 1931. It is based solely on the will of Emperor Menelik II which designated Lij Iyasu as his heir. These claims are challenged by the excommunication of Lij Iyasu (Iyasu V) by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church and the fact that Iyasu was never crowned, and thus could not be regarded as having legitimately succeeded according to the laws of the day.
Support for the various Iyasuist claimants has dwindled from when they received broad support in the mid-twenties to virtually nothing now. Because of this the Iyasuist cause is outside of the mainstream monarchist movement in Ethiopia.
Prince Girma uses the title Crown Prince of Ethiopia as his title of pretence. This title is also claimed by Zera Yacob Amha Selassie the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
He is married to Claudia Bertram, who, since their marriage, goes by the name Princess Claudia Iyasu Menelik.
