Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen

Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen
Born Yoel Dawit Makonnen Haile Selassie
1982
Rome, Italy
Spouse Ariana Austin (m. 2017)
House Solomon
Father Prince David Makonnen
Mother Princess Adey Imru Makonnen

Prince Joel David Makonnen Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, (Yoel Dawit Makonnen Haile Selassie; born 1982) is an Italian-born attorney, businessman, and member of the Ethiopian Imperial House of Solomon. He is the great-grandson of Haile Selassie I, the last Emperor of Ethiopia. Under the terms of the 1955 Constitution of Ethiopia he is currently fifth in the line of succession to the former Imperial Ethiopian throne.

Early life and family

Makonnen was born in exile in Rome, Italy in 1982. His parents, Prince David Makonnen and Princess Adey Imru Makonnen, were exiled from Ethiopia during the 1974 communist revolution, while other members of the family were also exiled, imprisoned, or executed. He is the youngest child of Prince David and Princess Adey. He has an older brother, Prince Yokshan Makonnen. His great-grandfather, Haile Selassie I, was the last Emperor of Ethiopia.[1][2] His father died from health complications in 1989 while in exile in Switzerland.[3] In 1993 Makonnen came to Ethiopia for the first time to visit his family after members of the Imperial family were released from prison and their properties were restored to them. In 1999 Makonnen moved to Addis Ababa with his mother, who was working with the United Nations, and lived there fore two years.[4]

Education

Makonnen was educated in Switzerland and France, having attended the Collège du Léman in Geneva and a boarding school in Haute Savoie. In 1999 he moved to Ethiopia and attended International Community School of Addis Ababa until 2001. In 2001, he enrolled at the Euro-American Institute of Technology in Sophia Antipolis, France. He transferred to American University in Washington, D.C. in 2003 where he earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a focus on international business from the Kogod School of Business. In 2015 he obtained a Juris Doctor from Howard University's School of Law.[5]

Career

In 2009 Makonnen began working as the director of grants for Humanities DC, a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was a legal intern at the United Nations in 2011 before working as a law clerk in international trade and equal opportunity employment in 2013. From 2016 until 2017 Makonnen was a compliance project manager at a real estate corporation. Since 2017 he has worked for Otsuka Pharmaceutical as a legal aid and corporate counsel.[6] Makonnen is a board director of the Wabe Shebelle Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and serves as Country Director of Alchemy World Projects USA.[7][8][9][10]

On August 10, 2018 Makonnen wrote an op-ed for True Africa about political change, national unity, and social progress in Ethiopia.[11]

Personal life

Makonnen met American philanthropist Ariana Austin, daughter of Bobby William Austin, at Pearl nightclub in Washington, D.C. in December 2005.[12][13] They got engaged in 2014.[14] Makonnen and Austin were married on September 9, 2017 in an Oriental Orthodox ceremony at Debra Genet Medhanealem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church in Temple Hills, Maryland.[15][16] The wedding was officiated by thirteen priests and included a coronation ceremony where both the bride and groom were crowned.[17][18] Their wedding reception was held at Foxchase Manor in Manassas, Virginia.[19] Over three hundred guests attended the five days of wedding festivities[20], which correlated with the Ethiopian New Year, starting on September 5th and ending on September 10th.[21]. Guests included Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, Prince Paul Makonnen, Prince Phillip Makonnen, Prince Beedemariam Makonnen, Princess Mary Asfaw Wossen, Johnnetta Cole, Sharon Pratt, and Brandon Todd.

Makonnen speaks English, Amharic, French, Italian and Spanish.[22]

Titles and styles

Makonnen formally uses the style His Imperial Highness with the title Prince Joel David Makonnen Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.[23] According to the terms set in the 1955 Constitution of Ethiopia, he is currently fifth in the line of succession to the former Imperial Ethiopian throne.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/inside-prince-yoel-ethiopia-ariana-austin-royal-wedding-maryland-gallery
  2. ↑ Matera, Avery. "Royal Wedding Gowns Through the Years, in Honor of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Wedding". Teen Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  3. ↑ https://princeyoel.com/bio
  4. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/Gerashowdtv/videos/559422427817736/
  5. ↑ https://princeyoel.com/bio
  6. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelmakonnen/
  7. ↑ https://princeyoel.com/
  8. ↑ https://princeyoel.com/business
  9. ↑ https://princeyoel.com/
  10. ↑ https://princeyoel.com/causes
  11. ↑ https://trueafrica.co/article/why-i-am-suddenly-optimistic-about-the-future-of-ethiopia/
  12. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/fashion/weddings/she-met-her-prince-the-great-grandson-of-haile-selassie.html
  13. ↑ "Girl Marries Prince: Real Life 'Coming To America' Story". 18 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Murphy, Carrie (18 October 2017). "An American Woman Met An Ethiopian Prince At A Bar—And They Had Quite The Lavish Wedding". simplemost. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  15. ↑ http://littleethiopia.org/blog/royal-wedding-ethiopian-prince-joel-dawit-makonnen-haile-selassie-married-ms-ariana-joy-lalita-austin-on-sunday-september-9th
  16. ↑ Masigan, Sammie (25 October 2017). "American Harvard Graduate Is Now Princess Of Ethiopia". LifeStyleAsia. Retrieved 22 August 2018. /
  17. ↑ Thompson, Desire (18 October 2017). "Woman Becomes Princess After Marrying African Prince She Met At A Nightclub". VIBE. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  18. ↑ Embury-Dennis, Tom (17 October 2017). "American woman marries Ethiopian prince she met in nightclub". The Independent. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  19. ↑ "Wedding of Haile Selassie's great-grandson sees union of Ethiopian, Guyanese heritages". Stabroek News. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  20. ↑ https://www.bet.com/style/living/2017/10/19/woman-mets-prince-in-the-club.html
  21. ↑ Mckenzie, Joi-Marie (19 October 2017). "How this bride found out her husband is a real-life Ethiopian prince". ABC News. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  22. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/Gerashowdtv/videos/559422427817736/
  23. ↑ https://princeyoel.com/
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