Ermias Sahle Selassie

Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie
Prince of Ethiopia
Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie in 2012.
Spouse	Woizero Gelila Fesseha (m. 1989 - div. 2004) Woizero Saba Kebede (m. 2011)
Issue	Leul Sahle-Selassie Ermias Leul Fesseha Zion Ermias
House	House of Solomon
Father	Sahle Selassie
Mother	Mahisente Habte Mariam
Born	(1960-06-14) 14 June 1960 Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire
Religion	Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo

Imperial Family of Ethiopia

HIH The Crown Prince HIH Princess Lideta Zera Yacob HIH Princess Ijigayehu HIH Prince Samson Fikre Selassie HIH Prince Bekere Fikre Selassie HIH Princess Donna Fikre Selassie HIH Prince Yisehaq Fikre Selassie HIH Princess Rahel Fikre Selassie HIH Princess Aster Fikre Selassie HIH Princess Meheret Fikre Selassie HIH Princess Maryam Senna HIH Princess Sehin Azebe HIH Princess Sifrash Bizu Extended family Descendants of Prince Makonnen: HIH The Dowager Duchess of Harar HIH The Duke of Harar HIH Prince Mikael Amde Yesus Makonnen HIH Princess Asrat Amaha Yesus HIH Princess Adey-Abeba Makonnen HIH Prince Yokshan Dawit Makonnen HIH Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen HIH Prince Philip Tafari Makonnen HIH Princess Aster Abatow HIH Prince David Tafari Makonnen HIH Prince Isaiah Tafari Makonnen HIH Princess ... Makonnen HIH Prince Baeda Maryam Makonnen HIH Princess Mahelate Baeda Mariam HIH Princess Blaine Baeda Mariam Descendants of Prince Sahle Selassie: HIH Princess Mahisente Habte Mariam HIH Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie HIH Prince Christian Sahle Selassie HIH Prince Rufael Fiseha Tsieon Ermias Descendants of Princess Tenagnework: HH Princess Hirut Desta HH Princess Seble Desta HH Princess Sophia Desta

Extended family Descendants of Emperor Yohannes IV: HH The Prince of Tigray Lij Mikael Sehul Lij Yohannes Mengesha Seyoum Lij Stefanos Mengesha Seyoum Lij Jalye Mengesha Seyoum Lij Seyun Mengesha Seyoum Immabet Menen Mengesha Seyoum

Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie (born on 14 June 1960 in Addis Ababa)^[1] is the only son of Prince Sahle Selassie of Ethiopia and Princess Mahisente Habte Mariam. He is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and furthermore of Dejazmach Habte Mariam Gebre-Igziabiher, the heir to the former Welega kingdom of Leqa Naqamte, and later served as governor of Welega province. Currently the prince is ninth in the line of succession to the vacant imperial throne.

Education

Prince Ermias was educated in Ethiopia, Great Britain, and the United States. In England, he received his education at Old Ride Preparatory School, and then at the Haileybury College. He obtained a BA degree in the social studies, with an emphasis in economics, from the University of California, in Santa Barbara. He continued his education at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy between 1983 and 1985.

Prince Ermias is fluent in Amharic, English and German.^[2]

Family

Prince Ermias was first married on 9 June 1989 to Woizero Gelila Fesseha, daughter of Afe-Negus Fesseha Gabre-Selassie, a former Lord Chief Justice of Ethiopia, and by her is the father of twin sons:

• Prince Sahle-Selassie Ermias (known as Christian). Born on 20 February 1992.
• Prince Fesseha Zion Ermias (known as Rufael). Born on 20 February 1992.

Prince Ermias and his first wife later divorced in July 2004.^[3] On 25 February 2011,^[4] Prince Ermias married Woizero Saba Kebede.^[5] The Prince and his wife live in the Metro Washington DC area.

Royal function

Prince Ermias currently serves as the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia in exile. The Crown Council has pursued a mission devoted to the promoting a cultural and humanitarian role. Prince Ermias is also patron of the Haile Selassie Fund for Children in Need which continues to sponsor student scholarships, and the St. George of Lalibela Foundation.

On 16 September 2010, Prince Ermias delivered remarks at a briefing entitled "Traditional Leadership in the Modern World: Humanitarianism, Culture and the Diaspora" in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. This briefing was conducted by Representative Diane Watson, who was a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and whose congressional district in Los Angeles includes Little Ethiopia. Empaneled with visiting royalty from Cameroon and the Kingdom of Swaziland (Princess Phindiwe Sangweni), Prince Ermias described the cultural leadership exercised by deposed and exiled royalty among members of ethnic communities living in either ancestral lands or diaspora in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Awards

In 1997, Prince Ermias was named recipient of the ISSA Silver Star Award for Outstanding Contributions to Strategic Progress Through Humanitarian Achievement the International Strategic Studies Association, for his work for Ethiopian refugees in Africa.

On 29 May 2013, Mayor Graham of Frankfort, Kentucky, United States, handed the Golden Key of the City to HIH Prince Ermias.^[6][7]

Patronages

• Founder of the Imperial Society of Saint George of Lalibela, Washington DC, 1998.
• Board Member of Tuition Credit Exchange Inc.
• Chairman Advisory Board of Bezant Corporation.
• Patron of the Haile Selassie Foundation for Ethiopia’s Children Inc.
• Patron for Africa for the Flying Hospital Charity.
• Director of the La Roche College (Pittsburg).
• Member of the Board of the United States National Slavery Museum.
• Honorary Member Advisory Committee of the Angel Foundation.
• Member of the Luso-Ethiopian Friendship Association.

Honours

• Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (Grand Priory of England, 10/10/12).^[8]
• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I (House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies).^[9]
• Medal of Merit of South Carolina.^[10]

References

See also

Line of succession to the Ethiopian Throne

External links

• Biography at Ethiopian Crown Council website