Emperor of Ethiopia | |
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ዐፄ | |
Imperial | |
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Details | |
Style | His Imperial Majesty |
First monarch | Menelik I |
Last monarch | Haile Selassie |
Formation | 1270 AD |
Abolition | 21 March 1975 |
Residence | Menelik Palace |
Appointer | Hereditary |
Pretender(s) | Zera Yacob Amha Selassie |
The emperor of Ethiopia (Ge'ez: ንጉሠ ነገሥት, romanized: nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse (Amharic: ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country. A National Geographic article from 1965 called imperial Ethiopia "nominally a constitutional monarchy; in fact [it was] a benevolent autocracy".[1]