Background
He is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and furthermore of Dejazmach Habte Mariam Gebre-Igziabiher, the heir to the former Welega kingdom of Leqa Naqamte, and later served as governor of Welega province.
He is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and furthermore of Dejazmach Habte Mariam Gebre-Igziabiher, the heir to the former Welega kingdom of Leqa Naqamte, and later served as governor of Welega province.
Prince Ermias was educated in Ethiopia, Great Britain, and the United States. In England, he received his education at Old Ride Preparatory School, and then at the Haileybury College. He obtained a Bachelor degree in the social studies, with an emphasis in economics, from the University of California, in Santa Barbara.
He continued his education at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy between 1983 and 1985.
Prince Ermias is fluent in Amharic, English and German.
Currently the prince is ninth in the line of succession to the vacant imperial throne. Prince Ermias was first married on 9 June 1989 to Woizero Gelila Fesseha, daughter of Afe-Negus Fesseha Gabre-Selassie, a former Lord Chief Justice of Ethiopia, and by her is the father of twin sons: Prince Sahle-Selassie Ermias (known as Christian). Born on 20 February 1992.
Prince Fesseha Zion Ermias (known as Rufael).
Born on 20 February 1992. On 25 February 2011, Prince Ermias married Woizero Saba Kebede.
Prince Ermias currently serves as the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia in exile. The Crown Council has pursued a mission devoted to the promoting a cultural and humanitarian role.
Prince Ermias is also patron of the Haile Selassie Fund for Children in Need which continues to sponsor student scholarships, and the Saint George of Lalibela Foundation.
On 16 September 2010, Prince Ermias delivered remarks at a briefing entitled "Traditional Leadership in the Modern World: Humanitarianism, Culture and the Diaspora" in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, District of Columbia Chairman Advisory Board of Bezant Corporation. Patron of the Haile Selassie Foundation for Ethiopia’s Children Incorporated. Patron for Africa for the Flying Hospital Charity.
Director of the Louisiana Roche College (Pittsburg).
Honorary Member Advisory Committee of the Angel Foundation. Orders of knighthood Other honorifics.
This briefing was conducted by Representative Diane Watson, who was a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and whose congressional district in Los Angeles includes Little Ethiopia. Empaneled with visiting royalty from Cameroon and the Kingdom of Swaziland (Princess Phindiwe Sangweni), Prince Ermias described the cultural leadership exercised by deposed and exiled royalty among members of ethnic communities living in either ancestral lands or diaspora in the United States and the United Kingdom. Board Member of Tuition Cr Exchange Incorporated.
Member of the Board of the United States National Slavery Museum.
Member of the Luso-Ethiopian Friendship Association.