I compiled this slide to share just basic information about internationally recognized Ethiopian persons.

1. Great
Internationally
Recognized
Ethiopians
COMPILED BY: BELACHEW WELDEGEBRIEL
Ethiopia:
Thirteen Months
of Sunshine.
Land of Origins.
Part I

2. 1. Emperor Tewodros II (King)
2. Emperor Menilik II (King)
3. Emperes Tayitu Butul
4. Emperor Haile Selassie I (King)
5. Captain Abebe Bikila (Athlete)
6. Haile Gebre Sillassie (Athlete)
7. PM Abiy Ahmed (PM)
8. Engineer Kitaw Ejigu (Scientist)
9. Hon. Mr. Yidnekachew Tesemma
10. Mulatu Astatikie (Musician, arranger)
11. Hakim Workineh (MD, Surgeon)
12. Abebech Gobena

3. Emperor Tewodros II
Tewodros II, English Theodore II, original name Kassa,
was not of noble birth; Tewodros came to the throne through
warfare against the feudal chiefs.
Not only did he reunify the various Ethiopian kingdoms into
one empire,
Contemporary European accounts portray him as an Ethiopian
Peter the Great, both for his hot temper and cruelty and for his
courage, ambition, military genius, and interest in technology.

4. Emperor Tewodros II
His ambition for modern weaponry led him to imprison several British missionaries and envoys so as
to get them manufacture modern arsenals.
This and his failure to answer queen Victoria letter to settle the matter diplomatically led Great
Britain to send the Napier expedition (1867–68) to rescue the prisoners.
The emperor eventually released the prisoners and committed suicide not to surrender to the British
army that raided maqdella.
British soldiers looted the Imperial palace and the city and left the country as they had no intention
of colonizing the country.

5. Emperor Menilik II
Ethiopian Adwa victory was attained by Empress Taytu Betul and
Emperor Menelik II in 1896 pan-Africanism and secured Ethiopia's
sovereignty.
The Battle of Adwa which took place on March 1, 1896 runs
across the annals of both Ethiopian and African history, as
the first victory of black Africa against a European colonial
power.

6. Declaration of War
Menelik’s famous declaration reads:
“Now an enemy that intends to destroy our homeland and change our religion has come crossing our
God-given frontiers digging in like a mole. Now, with the help of God, I will not allow him to have my
country. You, my countrymen, I have never knowingly hurt you, nor have you hurt me. Help me,
those of you with zeal and will power; those who do not have the zeal, for the sake of your wives and
your religion, help me with your prayers,” (Gebre Selassie, Tarike zaman Zadagmawi Menile Negusa
Nagast Ze-etyopya, 1966, p. 225.)

7. Emperess Tayitu Butul
Taytu Betul was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third
wife of Emperor Menelik II.
The Empress held a hard line against the Italians and when talks
eventually broke down resulting in an invasion, Taitu marched north with
the Emperor and the Imperial Army at the historic Battle of Adwa which
resulted in the humiliating defeat of Italy in March 1894.
In 1889, she collaborated with Emperor Minilik to establish Addis Ababa
as the nation's capital. And it was Taitu who gave Addis Ababa its name.

8. Emperess Tayitu
She was the savior of her nation when it was about to fall into the
hands of the Italian colonizer. Perhaps, there would not have been the
famous Battle of Adwa on March 1, 1896, which marked the Ethiopian
victory against colonialism, without Empress Taytu, for she inspired it.
Empress Taytu had her own battalion at war, which she bravely
commanded in the battlefield, fighting on the frontline and motivating
men against retreat.
Etege Taytu Hotel was the first hotel in the country and accomodated
mostly Ethiopian dignitaries, diplomats and foreigners. It was
constructed by the order of Empress Taitu in 1907 and designed by
Minas Kerbegian.

9. Emperor Haile Selassie I
In January 1936, Time magazine
named Haile Selassie, the
emperor of Ethiopia, its Man of
the Year.
 How Italy’s Colonial War In Ethiopia Foreshadowed The
Barbarism Of World War II

10. Haile Sellassie
One of the founding fathers of Organization of African
Union, now AU.
Haile Selassie was regarded as the messiah of all Black
people by the Rastafarian movement.
Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie I as God because
Marcus Garvey's prophecy - "Look to Africa where a
king shall be crowned, he shall be the Redeemer" - was
swiftly followed by the ascension of Haile Selassie as
Emperor of Ethiopia.
Rastafarians use Biblical names such as Lord of Lords,
King of Kings and Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah
for Haile Selassie.

11. Shambel Abebe Bikila
Abebe Bikila was the first African to win the Olympic marathon
gold medal and is known as the first athlete to win two Olympic
gold medals in marathon.
He won his and Africa’s first gold medal at the 1960 summer
Olympics in Rome while running barefoot.
At 1964 Tokyo Olympics he won the second gold medal.

12. Shambel Abebe Bikila
He also participated in International Paraplegic Games in Norway as a paraplegic after facing a car
accident. The story of his life was a source of inspiration for many people.
A member of the emperor Haile Selassie’s imperial bodyguards, Bikila rose to the rank of captain in
the palace guard.
As a tribute to Abebe Bikila, Siraj Gena ran barefoot for the last three hundred meters of the Abebe
Bikila’s Olympics Race in 2010 and won the same.
The Yaya Abebe Bikila Primary Village School was established by the Mendida community and a
stadium is named in his honor in Addis Ababa.

13. Haile Gebre Sellassie
He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 Metres and four World
Championship titles in the event.
He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three
straight wins at the Dubai Marathon.

14. Abiy Ahmed
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded
to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
He was awarded the prize for his efforts to "achieve
peace and international cooperation".
Mr. Abiy's peace deal with Eritrea ended a 20-year
military stalemate following their 1998-2000 border
war.
He was named as the winner of the 100th Nobel
Peace Prize in Oslo, where he will receive the
award in December.

15. Kitaw Ejigu
25 February 1948 – 13 January 2006) was an Ethiopian
American scientist and politician who served as chief of
spacecraft and satellite systems engineer for four
decades.

16. Hon. Mr. Yidnekachew Tessema
Tessema was a founding member of the
Confederation of African Football (CAF) in the
late 1950s.

17. Mulatu Astatkie
Mulatu Astatikie is the man who created 'Ethio jazz’
Mulatu Astatke (born 1943) is an Ethiopian musician and
arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz.
Mulatu Astatke became an international star in his 60s, thanks
to the Ethiopiques series of reissue albums and the subsequent
use of his music in the Jim Jarmusch movie Broken Flowers.

18. Dr. Mulatu Astatike
Mulatu has received Honorary degrees from Boston Berkley College of Music and Jimma University so
far.
It was noted that Mulatu has played a significant role in introducing the Ethiopian culture and
building country’s image to the rest of the world at large.
Astatke was the first African student at Berklee in the 60s, and he currently sits on the advisory board
for the college's Africa Scholars programme.

19. Hakim Workneh
•'Hakim Workneh Eshete (also known as
Charles Martin; 21 October 1864 – 9 October
1952) was the first Ethiopian educated as a
medical doctor, and an Ethiopian
intellectual.
•Ethiopia’s diplomatic representative in
England at the time of the Italian Fascist
invasion in 1935-6(Richard Pankhurst 2007).

20. Hakim Workneh
He led the Ethiopian diplomatic mission to the United States in 1927, which
negotiated a contract to build a dam on the upper Abay River and, beginning in
1934, He served as Ethiopia's Minister to the United Kingdom.
He went to school in India, Burma and Britain. This enabled him to qualify in due
course as Ethiopia’s first modern-trained physician and surgeon.

21. Abebech Gobena (Organization
Founder)
Abebech Gobena, an Ethiopian prominent philanthropist who
devoted her life to help destitute orphans in Ethiopia,
The Abebech Gobena Orphanage and School now has 200 resident
and 482 non-resident pupils, the government providing some
teachers.
As a result, she had received great awards and accolades from various
national and international organizations as well as an honorary
doctorate degree in humanity from Jimma University.

22. Abebech Gobena
Abebech Gobena is often called Mother Teresa of Africa.
Humanitarian and founder of an organization to support
orphaned and vulnerable children and their communities.

23. References
Tewodros II Emperor of Ethiopia. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tewodros-II
Abebech Gobena Published on Jimma University Official Website (https://www.ju.edu.et) Jimma
university, Ethiopia. https://www.ju.edu.et/?q=printpdf/490
The victory of Adwa ignited global resistance against Colonialism. Eagle Eye Lens.
https://eagleeyelen.wordpress.com/2022/03/01/the-victory-of-adwa-ignited-global-resistance-
against-colonialism/
Hakim Workneh, Ethiopia and the Libyan war. November 4, 2007. Richard Pankhurst Historical and
cultural articles on Ethiopia. https://richardpankhurst.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/hakim-workneh-
ethiopia-and-the-libyan-war/

24. References
Ethiopia. December 12, 2015. Facebook. Hakim Workneh Eshete.
https://www.facebook.com/aboutethiopia/posts/hakim-workneh-eshete-also-known-as-charles-
martin-21-october-1864-9-october-1952/10153165065076345/
allaboutETHIO. Ethiopia's First and Largest Blog Network.
Mulatu Astatke (2007) https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/mulatu-astatke-ethiopian-
knight
Nobel Peace Prize: Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed wins. Published 11 October 2019.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50013273.
https://waltainfo.com/42089/ https://www.thewire.co.uk/news/19115/mulatu-astatke-awarded-
honorary-degree