The Ethiopian Empire in exile was a
government-in-exile
A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a Sovereign state, country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Govern ...
formed when
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
fled the country after Italy invaded
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
in 1935. Haile Selassie, recognized by
Allied world powers as ''de jure'' legitimate ruler of Ethiopia, went to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
via
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
by boarding British ship in 1936.
He then went to a villa
Fairfield House in Bath,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
accompanied by his children, grandchildren and servants, and spent the reminder time until the liberation of Ethiopia during
East African Campaign in 1941, where he returned to the throne after leaving for five years. Haile Selassie also went to
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
to address
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
about the Ethiopian sovereignty and denouncing
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
's actions toward his army on 30 June 1936.
Initial journey
The government of Ethiopia in-exile was occurred when
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
fled to
Bath (145km west of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
) in 1935 as
Benito Mussolini declared the invasion of
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that histori ...
on 9 May 1936.
On 1 May 1936, Haile Selassie took train to
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
and then boarded a British ship.
In Jerusalem
Jerusalem was a sanctuary to the emperor and the Royal family in his exile during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. This was the second visit of the city in the twentieth century, one in 1924 grand tour of Europe. While at Jerusalem, Haile Selassie spend majority times with Ethiopian monks, praying with them at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
In England
Emperor Haile Selassie fled to
Bath (145km west of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
) where he granted by British authority to live as asylum. However, they do not want to stay in London as long as possible due to perceived "politically embarrassing". Upon arrival, he stayed at a hotel. Shortly afterward, he bought
Fairfield House to spend the remainder of his time. He was accompanied by his children, grandchildren, servants and others. In Bath, Haile Selassie accustomed to the "army of servants" and living in single house as financially restricted. He was seen getting rid of jewelry on a couple of occasions. Upon leaving England, he left the house for the elderly. In 1954, Haile Selassie visited Bath again.
An estimated 90,000 people of Ethiopian descent lived Britain, among them were
Abiyot Desta, who visited the residence of the emperor for the first time.
In Geneva
On 30 June 1936, Haile Selassie traveled once to
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
to plead with the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
not Ethiopia officially recognized as part of
Italian Empire
The Italian colonial empire ( it, Impero coloniale italiano), known as the Italian Empire (''Impero Italiano'') between 1936 and 1943, began in Africa in the 19th century and comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependenci ...
. He had also European allies who traveled to Ethiopia to report the news about
Ethiopian army struggling with Italy.
The report helped the British to enter Ethiopia with the emperor in the later years. As Italy declared war on England in 1940, the British accompanied Haile Selassie to
Sudan and helped him organizing his army within seven months, and finally accomplished it by
liberating Ethiopia and return to the throne on 5 May 1941.
References
{{Reflist
Haile Selassie
20th century in Ethiopia
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
Italian East Africa
Ethiopian Empire
History of Ethiopia