Girma Yohannes Iyasu

Prince(Abeto Lij)Girma Yohannes Iyasu(born 1961) is the Iyasuist claimant to the throne ofEthiopian Empire.He is also known by the nameGirma Amente Ghebresillasie.

Prince Girma Yohannes Iyasu
Prince of Ethiopia
Born	1961 (age 62–63) Assebot Monastery, Assaba Tafari,Ethiopian Empire
Spouse	Claudia Bertram
Issue	LijKaerrod Girma 2 daughters
Names Abeto LijGirma Yohannes Iyasu
Dynasty	House of Solomon
Father	LijYohannes Iyasu
Mother	an unknown Lady
Religion	Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

Life

He is the son ofDejazmatchYohannes Iyasu(1915-1977).Through his father,LijGirma is a grandson ofLijIyasu,Emperor-designate of Ethiopia from 1913 until 1916 when he was deposed byDejazmachTeferi Mekonen with the support of the British, French and Italian Ministers (Thesiger, Brice and Coli) and excommunicated by theEthiopian Orthodox Church,which deprived him of his rights of succession.Iyasu was the son ofNegusMikael of Sion,and matrilineal grandson of EmperorMenelik IIof Ethiopia.LijGirma Yohannes grew up in the monasteries ofAsebot,Dega Estifanos (Lake Tana) andDebre Damo.At the age of 7 he left Ethiopia in 1968 with the help ofPrince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia,grandson of EmperorWilhelm II of Germanyin collaboration withLijMered andLijMesfin Birru (sons ofRasBirru Woldegabriel) plus the then Governor ofDjibouti.He received his education at theLondon School of Economics(United Kingdom),University of California, Berkeley(USA) and Universities ofHeidelberg,BielefeldandBremen(Germany). He has also worked as an instructor and researcher at theUniversity of Bremen,University of Miami,London School of EconomicsandHaramaya University(as chairman of the governing board of the university).

Iyasuist claimant

LijGirma claims that not only the governments of EmpressZewdituand EmperorHaile Selassiewere illegitimate, but also that Haile Selassie himself was too far down the line of succession to claim the crown according to the rule of the Ethiopian royal house since Menelik I. As such, as a grandson ofLijIyasu, he claims to be the leading core member of the Solomonic dynasty from the house of David and rightful monarch of Ethiopia.This however is not based or supported by any constitutional or traditional procedure, since Ethiopia did not receive itsfirst modern constitutionaddressing order of succession until 1931, and the old traditional male line succession would have gone toDejazmachTaye Gulilat after Menelik II and not toLijIyasu;LijIyasu,RasKassa and Emperor Haile Selassie were all descended from the royal house through female lines, and had roughly equivalent claims to each other. The claim of the Iyasuist line is based solely on the legal will of Emperor Menelik II which designatedLijIyasu as his heir, and which opponents argue was cancelled byLijIyasu's excommunication.

The Iyasuist claims are challenged by the excommunication ofLijIyasu (Iyasu V) byMattheos X,Abunaof theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church,and the fact that Iyasu declined to be crowned, citing the fact that he did not want to occupy a higher office before he united the Ethiopians and throw out the Italians from Eritrea. He was the founder of the first Ethiopian government auditing systems, municipality, the police force and judicial reforms. He was the first monarch to build Mosques for the neglected and highly disadvantaged Muslims of Ethiopia.LijGirma is the only one currently making an active Iyasuist claim to the throne. His pretentions are however undermined due to the very large number of descendants ofLijIyasu that exist with an equal or arguably superior claim. His claim may also be subject to the test of loyalties according to which members who have abjured their citizenship, faith, or married non-Ethiopians may fail.LijGirma himself, being married to a non-Ethiopian, would fail this test.

LijGirma uses the title of H.I.H.Abeto-Hoy LijGirma Yohannes Iyassu Menelik II ( "Crown Prince of Ethiopia" ) as histitle of pretence.The title of Crown Prince is also claimed byLeulZera Yacob Amha Selassiethe grandson of EmperorHaile Selassie I.The throne of Ethiopia since the reign of HIMAtse(Emperor) Menelik II have been subject to the guardianship of the Imperial Crown Council of Ethiopia. It was the Imperial Crown Council headed byFitawrariHabtegiorgis Dinagdethat removed the sitting(if uncrowned)LijIyasu (Iyasu V) for cause. The same Council elevated a royal cousin, Tafari Makonnen to be Crown Prince of Ethiopia, and proclaimed Zauditu Menelik as Queen of Kings, Lion of Judah, Elect of God and Empress of Ethiopia. The Crown Council actions paid heed to one of the wishes of Menelik II, who while alive had all but elevated his first cousin (father ofRasTafari),RasMakonnen, to be his successor.RasTafari Makonnen went on to become, again by consent of the Crown Council of the time, Emperor Haile Selassie I. The functions of the Imperial Crown Council, verification not only of constitutional legitimacy of an intendant monarch but also compliance of the same with the ancient code of the Fetha Negest is one of the most important in the Ethiopian crowns orders of succession. The Fetha Negest codes require an Emperor to be able to function in his role both as head of the nation, as well as head of the armed forces in times of conflict. The 1930 constitution of Ethiopia attempts to codify the order of succession in modern terms. But the centuries-old Fetha Negest and Fetha Negest scholars still prevail in discussions on points of law and conflict between the old and the new. Under the old Fetha Negest rules,LijGirma's claims would be far junior to those of the male line heirs ofDejazmatchTaye Gulilat, and under the 1930 and 1955 constitutions, his claims would be non-existent. The male line heirs ofDejazmatchTaye Gulilat do not however currently make a claim on the Imperial throne.

LijGirma's claim to fame came in the 1999 re-interment of H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I when a newspaper article suggested in an interview with him that he felt the late monarch deserved his fate. He demanded to know what was done with the remains of his grandfatherLijIyasu, and also suggested that a search be conducted for his remains and that his bones should be placed in the tomb currently occupied by those ofPrincess Tsehai Haile Selassiein the crypt of the Ba'eta Le Mariam Monastery where Emperor Menelik II is buried. He suggested that the Princess be reinterred atHoly Trinity Cathedralalongside Haile Selassie I and his heirs. The article was used by the EPRDF government as one of its many attempts to shed a negative light on the period of mourning for Emperor Haile Selassie and show that there were rifts within the monarchist movement.LijGirma was widely condemned at the time for his lack of traditional Ethiopian etiquette and for the very coarse language he used in the article. Little has been heard of him in Ethiopia since.

He is President of theEthiopian Democratic PartyinGermany.

Family

LijGirma is married to Claudia Bertram, who, since their marriage, goes by the name Princess Claudia Iyasu Menelik. They have one son:

• LijKaerrod Girma (Iyasu V Kifle Yacob).

LijGirma also has two daughters from a previous relationship with the daughter of an American industrialist.

Notable published works

• "Strategische Marktforschung Und Instrumente Des Strategischen Marketings" (1989).
• "Kalter Krieg Am Horn Von Afrika: Regional-Konflikte Athiopien Und Somalia Im Spannungsfeld Der Supermachte 1945-1991" (1999).

Ancestry

Ancestors of Girma Yohannes Iyasu
16.ImamAli Abba Bula 8.NegusMikael of Zion 17.WoizeroGetie 4.EmperorIyasu V of Ethiopia 18.EmperorMenelik II of Ethiopia 9.WoizeroShoa Reggad 19.WoizeroDesseta 2.LijYohannes Iyasu 10.DejazmatchGoshu 5.WoizeroWorqnesh 1.LijGirma Yohannes Iyasu 3. an unknown Lady