| Prince Makonnen | |
| Duke of Harar | |
| Birth Date: | 16 October 1924 |
| Birth Place: | Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire |
| Death Place: | Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Empire |
| Spouse: | Sara Gizaw |
| Issue: | Prince Paul Wossen, Duke of Harar Prince Mikael, Duke of Harar Prince Dawit Prince Taffari Prince Beede Mariam |
| Place Of Burial: | Holy Trinity Cathedral |
| Religion: | Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo |
| Full Name: | Araya Yohannes |
| Father: | Haile Selassie |
| Mother: | Menen Asfaw |
| Dynasty: | House of Solomon (Shewan Branch) |
Prince Makonnen Haile Selassie, Duke of Harar (baptismal name: Araya Yohannes; 16 October 1924 - 13 May 1957) was the second son, and second-youngest child, of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and Empress Menen Asfaw. He was made Mesfin (or Duke) of Harar upon the coronation of his parents in 1930.
Prince Makonnen was married to Sara Gizaw, who also became a Princess and the Duchess of Harar. Together they had six sons, all of whom are entitled to the style of Imperial Highness:
In addition, Prince Makonnen also had a natural daughter, Woizero Meheret Makonnen, born before 1945.
In 1974, with the overthrow of the Ethiopian monarchy, the widowed Duchess of Harar and her sons were all placed under detention, with the exception of Prince Taffari who was abroad at school and Prince David Makonnen who was attending advanced military training in the United States. After a long and harsh imprisonment, Princess Sara was released by the Derg regime along with the other female members of the Imperial family in 1989. A year later, her sons were also released from their imprisonment. Days before their release, Prince Dawit Makonnen died in Switzerland.
After the fall of the Derg regime, Princess Sara and her sons were allowed to travel abroad. And after a number of years living in London, they returned to live in Addis Ababa. The Duchess of Harar was prominent at the Imperial funerals held for her brother-in-law, the Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen (also known as Emperor-in-Exile Amha Selassie I), the Emperor Haile Selassie I, and the funeral for Princess Tenagnework. She died in 2019.
It was widely believed that Emperor Haile Selassie favoured the Duke of Harar over all his other children, and it was even rumoured that the Emperor even considered naming Makonnen as his heir, instead of his liberal elder son, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen. However, Prince Makonnen died in a car crash in 1957 on his way to the resort town of Nazreth from Debre Zeyit, east of Addis Ababa. He was buried in the crypt of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa. Some believe the car crash was an assassination plot by the Prince's political enemies. He was 32 years old at the time of his death.[1]