Wolde Selassie (Tigrinya: ወልደስላሴ; c.1736 – 28 May 1816) was Ras of the Tigray province between 1788 and 1816, and Regent of the Ethiopian Empire between 1797 and 1800. John J. Halls, in his Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt, preserves a description of this powerful warlord, as "small in stature, and delicately formed, quick in his manner, with a shrewd expression, and considerable dignity in his deportment." Nathaniel Pearce also notes that Ras Wolde was an avid chess player, and "would play at from morning till night".