HIM Haile Selassie, 19th century (photo)

AFRICA, ETHIOPIA - H.I.M Haile Selassie was born in 1892 at the city of Harar. Ras Tafari Makonnen, as he was then known, became regent in 1916. He ascended the throne in 1930 as Haile Selassie 1. He was a member of the dynastic line which had occupied the throne of Ethiopia since the legendary union of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. His father was a cousin and the leading general of Emperor Menelik 11 who ruled at the turn of the century. Forced into exile in 1936 by the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, he made a dramatic appearance at the league of nations pleading for international support for his country. Since that time the emperor was a staunch advocate of collective security in the international field. He returned to Ethiopia from his exile in England in 1941.