The Anglo-Ethiopian Society
Book Tour - King of Kings: The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate in conversation with Paul Blezard
Sunday 3rd April 2016
FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival, 10:00am - 11:00am, Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room, 34 Broad St, Oxford, OX1 3BD
Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate talks about his colourful new biography of the life of his great-uncle Emperor Haile Selassie. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Ethiopia and was educated at the German School. He fled the 1974 revolution to Europe to continue his studies at Magdalen College Cambridge and the University of Tübingen and finally received his PhD in history from the University of Frankfurt. He knew the emperor well and gained an intimate insight into life in his controversial court. Selassie was a descendant of King Solomon who fought with the Allies during the Second World War and became the messiah of the Rastafarians. He was a reformer and an autocrat and a forerunner of African independence.
Asfa-Wossen has lived in Germany since the 1970s. He is a corporate consultant and the author of the critically acclaimed German bestsellers Manieren (Manners) and Deutsche Tugenden (German Virtues). He is also the founder of Pactum Africanum a German charitable foundation that promotes understanding between the Abrahamic religions.
Author and broadcaster, Paul Blezard was the founder of the Chelsea Poets Society and his work has been published in the UK and abroad. Currently writing a new novel and chairing events at literary festivals around the world, he was the former Literary Editor of The Lady magazine, for ten years was the popular voice of Oneword Radio and writes for various publications.
The event is part of the FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival. Tickets are £12 and can be booked through the Festival website.