Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate – King of Kings: The Triumph of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
To coincide with the 85th anniversary of Haile Selassie’s coronation, Haus Publishers have organised the book launch of King of Kings – The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, by Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate.
Haile Selassie, ‘King of Kings’, was a descendent of King Solomon and a forerunner of African unity and independence. He fought with the Allies against the fascist Axis powers during the Second World War and was the messiah of the Jamaican Rastafarians. He was a reformer and an autocrat, who was assassinated in a communist coup. He was an equally formidable and iridescent figure, who is brilliantly portrayed by his great-nephew Asfa-Wossen Asserate.
Asfa-Wossen Asserate was born in 1948 in Addis Ababa as a member of the Imperial House of Ethiopia. He read history and law at Cambridge and at the University of Tübingen, and received his PhD at the University of Frankfurt. He now lives in Frankfurt where he works as a consultant on African and Middle-Eastern Affairs, and as a political analyst. He is a bestselling author in Germany and has been awarded the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize and the Jacob Grimm Prize, two of the country’s most prestigious literary prizes.
The event will include a standing reception and book signing. Copies of the book will be on sale.
This event is supported by the Royal African Society, the Anglo-Ethiopian Society and the Global Heritage Fund UK.
