Regent to the Empress Zauditu from 1916, Ras (Prince) Tafari Makonnen succeeded her to the throne of Ethiopia in 1930, proclaiming himself Haile Selassie ("Might of the Trinity"). He modernized Ethiopia and led the resistance against Italian invasion (1935). Selassie was exiled in 1936, but restored to power in 1941 with the assistance of the Allies in World War II. By the 1970s the region's droughts and famines had taken their toll and Selassie began to lose popular support. He was deposed in a military coup in 1974 and died while under arrest. Selassie, who claimed to be a direct descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, is the object of veneration in the religion of Rastafarianism. Selassie was also known as "The Lion of Judah" and "King of Kings.” Imposing, official Ministry of Information glossy 8 x 10 portrait of the leader in military regalia, signed in fountain pen. In fine condition, with a few scattered surface impressions, some creasing, largely in the edges and corners, and adhesive residue on the reverse from previous mounting. COA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
