CHAPMAN-ANDREWS AND THE EMPEROR

211pp., hardback, d.w., Barnsley, 2005

Sir Peter Leslie on the relationship between Sir Edwin Chapman-Andrews, a British diplomat, and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, from the latter’s Coronation in 1930 until his murder in 1975. Based on Chapman-Andrew’s diary, the book focuses on the re-instatement of Selassie on his throne by Britain's Special Operations Executive in 1940, after his deposition by the Italians. Later Chapman-Andrews was a key figure during the Suez Crisis and in Britain’s relations with Egypt and Sudan as well as Ethiopia.

Peter Leslie worked for Barclays Bank from 1955 until his retirement in 1991. During his career he worked in nine countries in Africa, the Middle East and Caribbean, including the Sudan when Chapman-Andrews was British Ambassador.