Zera Yacob Amha Selassie

Zera Yacob Amha Selassie(/ˈzɪərəjæˈkb/;Geʽez:ዘርዐ ያዕቆብ አምሃ ሥላሴ; born 17 August 1953) is the grandson of EmperorHaile Selassieand son ofAmha Selassieof theEthiopian Empire.He has beenhead of the Imperial House of Ethiopiasince 17 February 1997 as recognized by theCrown Council of Ethiopia.

Zera Jacob Amha Selassie
Tenure17 February 1997 – present
PredecessorHaile Selassie
asEmperor of Ethiopia
Amha Selassie
asEmperor-in-exile of Ethiopia
Heir-PresumptivePrince Mikael, Duke of Harar
Born(1953-08-17)17 August 1953(age 71)
Addis Ababa,Ethiopian Empire
SpouseNunu Getaneh (divorced)
Issue1
DynastyHouse of Solomon
FatherAmha Selassie
MotherMedferiashwork Abebe
ReligionEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo

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 the1974 Ethiopian Revolutionby theDerg.As a result, Yacob never became a ruling Emperor of Ethiopia. Ethiopia became aFederal Democratic Republic in 1991.

Biography

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Zera Yacob attendedEton Collegeand graduated fromExeter College,OxfordandSandhurst.[1]He was named Acting Crown Prince andheir presumptiveto 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 toLondonand was married to Princess Nunu (née Getaneh), and later divorced. They had one daughter. He was namedheir apparentby his father, who assumed the title of Emperor-in-exile at that time in April 1989 in London.[citation needed]

In 1992 he accompanied his fatherAmha SelassietoVirginia,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 toLondon,England,where he had settled in a modest home on theIsle of Dogs.[1]

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

Honours

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Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^abCusick, James (23 October 2011)."Lost: one Lion Emperor, last seen in the Isle of Dogs".The Independent on Sunday.Archived fromthe originalon 18 January 2021.Retrieved9 May2021.
  2. ^Charles Mohr(15 April 1974)."Haile Selassie Designates a Grandson as Eventual Successor".The New York Times.Retrieved25 August2020.
  3. ^"Connaissance des Religions > Sommaires - 1985-1994".Cdr.religion.info.Archived fromthe originalon 14 February 2012.Retrieved21 March2016.
  4. ^"Imperial House".Archived fromthe originalon 12 July 2015.Retrieved21 March2016.
  5. ^Studylib
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Zera Yacob Amha Selassie
Born:17 August 1953
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
Emperor of Ethiopia
17 February 1997 – Present
Reason for succession failure:
Empire abolished in 1975
Incumbent
Heir:
Prince Amde Mikael Ijesus, Duke of Harar