The Lion of Judah of Menelik II in Addis Ababa

The monument to the Lion of Judah is a statue located in the square of the Addis Ababa railway station, marking the end of Winston Churchill Avenue. The sculpture is made of gilded bronze and is placed on a black granite pedestal decorated with relief portraits of emperors Menelik II and Haile Selassie, Empress Zewditu, and Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael. The work was made by the French sculptor Georges Gardet in 1930, on the occasion of the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie on 2 November 1930.

After the 1974 revolution, the Derg regime considered removing the monument because it was a symbol of the monarchy. However, an association of Arbegnoch veterans claimed that it was a memory of Ethiopian antifascist resistance and a symbol of Ethiopia. Because of this, the regime agreed to leave the monument in front of the Addis Ababa central station.

The statue was transported to Rome, Italy in 1936 by the Royal Italian Army following the occupation of Addis Ababa. It was placed in Rome on 8 May 1937, where it remained until the 1960s. Following negotiations in Addis Ababa, the sculpture was returned to Ethiopia. Emperor Haile Selassie took part in the new inauguration ceremony in military uniform, recalling the patriotic gesture of Zerai Derres.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons