As history has it, he was a pretty noble leader. He was passionate about disarmament and giving his citizens the right to vote. He also pushed for better education, as well as giving equal opportunities to both boys and girls.

One thing that was questionable was that during his reign North Ethiopia became overpopulated, so he handed out over five million hectares of land to the "Ethiopian people" yet only 21% of that went to poor peasants who needed it most while the rest of it went to nobles, police, army, government, and churches.

In 1972 there was a famine that devastated Ethiopia and killed over a quarter million people. Some people argue that it could have been prevented had the government acted sooner.

One thing to keep in mind is that when you rule a country for over 40 years, some shit is bound to happen and not everybody will agree with every decision that is made. From a historical standpoint (and especially when compared to leaders of other African countries) he was a pretty decent man.

I'm not a historian by any definition of the word, nor am I a rasta (even though I love reggae music) but I think it is also worth mentioning that Haile Selassie never claimed to be the second coming of Jesus that most Rastafarians view him as. The main reason they hold him in such high honor is because he fulfilled the prophecy of being the first black leader of a fully independent African state.

The foundation of Rastafari is based on Christianity. The Holy Piby (afro-centric bible) predicts a second coming of Christ with black skin. When Selassie became emperor he took the title Negus Nagast (king of kings) and claimed descendent from the house of Solomon. That's how he gained his status as the chosen one.

Followup question: I have heard that he was the emperor of the only african country to never be conquered by the west, is this true? Did this contribute to his god myth?

This may be a really bad question and I apologize if it is but if he was the emperor of Ethiopia then why is Rastafarianism so prevalent in Jamaica?