| Original Caption: “Emperor Greets President. Franklin D. Roosevelt meets Haile Selassie on return from Yalta.” United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), receives Emperor Haile Selassie (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) of Ethiopia aboard United States Navy heavy cruiser USS Quincy (CA-71) on Great Bitter Lake on the Suez Canal near Cairo. The President was returning from the Yalta Conference. The Yalta Conference, the 2nd of 3 wartime conferences of the heads of state of the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union, was held February 4-11, 1945. President Roosevelt’s entourage immediately left Yalta by plane, arriving at Deversoir, Egypt at 1525 Hours on February 12, 1945. He immediately transferred to USS Quincy. Undersecretary of State Joseph C. Grew (May 27, 1880 – May 25, 1965) reached out to Addis Ababa for a conference on February 3, 1945, before the Roosevelt Administration left for Yalta. He informed United States Ambassador to Egypt S. Pinkney Tuck (May 3, 1891 – April 21, 1967) to acquire accommodations and arrange air transportation for Selassie and his party. Emperor Selassie and his entourage arrived at USS Quincy at 1800 Hours on February 13, 1945. The party was taken on a tour of the ship before meeting with President Roosevelt. They enjoyed tea with the President at 1820 Hours. Emperor Selassie presented Roosevelt with a gold cigarette case and a gold-plated globe. Selassie’s party disembarked at 1900 Hours. United States Ambassador to Ethiopia, John K. Caldwell (October 16, 1881 – June 27, 1982), recorded the minutes of the meeting, which he sent to Washington on February 27, and was received at the State Department on March 13, 1945: “On Tuesday afternoon, February 13, the Emperor and his party were flown to Deversoir, where they were met by Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy (May 6, 1875 – July 20, 1959) and Minister Tuck and taken by automobile to the pier and thence by launch to a United States warship.” “The President received them on deck about 1700 Hours, and after a brief conversation between the President and the Emperor, the latter, with most of his retinue, was escorted over the ship, and then met the President in his cabin for tea.” “Conversation through tea was conducted between the President and the Emperor in French; after tea conversation was in Amharic and Ato Yilma Deressa [(September 21, 1907 – January 1979)], Ethiopian Vice Minister of Finance, acted as interpreter, the only persons present being the President, the Emperor, Mister Deressa, and (at the request of the President) myself.” “The conversation on official business lasted more than an hour and covered, among other matters, Ethiopia’s need for a port; in reply to the President’s question as to whether this should be Djibouti or in Eritrea, the Emperor said that from a short term point of view Djibouti would be the best port because of the existing railway, but that a long term policy required a port in Eritrea. The President inquired regarding the possibility of building a railway to such a port and was told it could be done; he advised that in case this were undertaken by an American company too much should not be paid for its services, and added that he would give the same advice in regard to petroleum in case that matter should ever come up. The Emperor read from several pages of notes in Amharic, which were translated into English as read, and on some points of which there was very brief discussion. When mention was made of Italian Somaliland, the President asked whether it had been at some time a part of Ethiopia, and the Emperor replied in the affirmative.” Caldwell then informed Washington that Selassie met with United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) at the British Cairo Embassy on February 16, 1945, at 1800 Hours. Caldwell explained in a despatch dated March 7, 1945, that documents presented at the meeting by Emperor Selassie were rather lengthy, that they were read by the Emperor in Amharic and were translated into English by Mister Deressa, a procedure which “occupied most of the period of the conversation.” As far as the Minister was aware “no commitments, promises or assurances of any kind were given by the President in response to the requests of the Emperor for assistance” made in connection with the memoranda. The Minister further remarked that “all the important political matters mentioned during the conversation were brought up by the Emperor.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0831.jpg |
| Image Size | 259.59 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1784 x 1394 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 13, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Deversoir |
| State or Province | Ismailia |
| Country | Egypt |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 208-PR-11A-17 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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