Christopher Mutsvangwa | |
---|---|
Minister of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services [1] | |
Assumed office 30 November 2017 | |
President | Emmerson Mnangagwa |
Preceded by | Webster Shamu |
Chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association | |
Assumed office 15 November 2014 | |
Preceded by | Jabulani Sibanda |
Minister for War Veterans | |
In office 11 December 2014 –4 March 2016 | |
President | Robert Mugabe |
Preceded by | New post |
Succeeded by | Tshinga Dube |
Member of Parliament for Norton | |
In office 31 July 2013 –19 July 2016 | |
Preceded by | Edward Musumbu |
Succeeded by | Temba Mliswa |
Majority | 1,232 (5.9%) |
Zimbabwean Ambassador to China | |
In office 17 December 2002 –1 December 2006 | |
Preceded by | Lucas Tavaya |
Succeeded by | Frederick Shava |
Personal details | |
Born | Christopher Hatikure Mutsvangwa 24 May 1955 Salisbury,Southern Rhodesia |
Nationality | Zimbabwean |
Political party | ZANU-PF |
Spouse | Monica Parirenyatwa |
Education | University of Rhodesia Boston University (BS) St. John's University (MBA) |
Christopher Hatikure Mutsvangwa (born 24 May 1955) is a Zimbabwean politician,diplomat and businessman. A veteran of the Rhodesian Bush War,Mutsvangwa served the government of independent Zimbabwe and the ZANU-PF party in a number of roles,including as Director-General of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation,Ambassador to China,head of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association,and Veterans' Welfare Minister.
In March 2016 he was suspended from ZANU-PF for 3 years for "gross misconduct and disloyalty" and fanning factionalism in the party. [2] He has been accused of being a key figure in the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'etat.
Mutsvangwa and his wife have parroted anti-Ndebele sentiments,with his wife mocking victims of the Gukurahundi Genocide.
Christopher Hatikure Mutsvangwa was born on 24 May 1955 at Salisbury Central Hospital in Salisbury,Southern Rhodesia (now Harare). [3] He spent his early childhood in the Salisbury suburb of Mbare before returning to his family's home region near Chief Nyamweda,Mashonaland Central. He did his primary education at Masawi and Marirangwe schools,and began his secondary studies at Kutama College before completing his A-Levels at St Augustine's High in Penhalonga . [3]
Mutsvangwa was among just seven black students selected to enter the Faculty of Law of the then University of Rhodesia in 1975,but left shortly thereafter to join ZIPRA in Mozambique. [3] He later completed his university education in the United States,receiving a BS in Management and Information Systems from Boston University in 1984 and an MBA from St. John's University in 1990. [3]
Mutsvangwa entered public life as a diplomat,serving at postings in Brussels under Ambassador Solomom J. Mahaka to the European Union and New York to the United Nations under Stan Mudenge. In 1989,he was part of the UN observer team that monitored Namibia's first general elections,which were won by SWAPO,led by Sam Nujoma. Mutsvangwa left diplomatic service in 1990. [3]
In 1991,Mutsvangwa was appointed Director-General of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. [3] He stepped down in 1994 to return to the private sector,serving as an executive in the telecommunications industry. Returning to politics in 2000,he was elected ZANU-PF Party Secretary for Harare Province. In 2002 he was appointed Zimbabwean Ambassador to China,tasked with deepening the country's foreign policy reorientation away from the West towards China. He served for four years until 2006,leaving under a "cloud of controversy" due to party infighting. [4]
In 2012 he was appointed Chairman of the Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe. In the 2013 elections he was returned as MP for Norton. [5] He was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and then the first Minister for Welfare Services for War Veterans,War Collaborators,Former Political Detainees and Restrictees. Following his expulsion from ZANU-PF he was recalled from Parliament.
An ally of ousted Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa,Mutsvangwa praised Army General Constantino Chiwenga for "a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power" and hoped that the army would restore a "genuine democracy" and Zimbabwe as a "modern model nation" following the 2017 coup d'état. [6] [7] Mutsvangwa was said to be involved in negotiations for a transitional government with Mnangagwa and Morgan Tsvangirai. [8]
Until roughly 2,000 years ago,what would become Zimbabwe was populated by ancestors of the San people. Bantu inhabitants of the region arrived and developed ceramic production in the area. A series of trading empires emerged,including the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and Kingdom of Zimbabwe. In the 1880s,the British South Africa Company began its activities in the region,leading to the colonial era in Southern Rhodesia.
The Zimbabwe African National Union –Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years by Robert Mugabe,first as prime minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as president from 1987 after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF,until 2017,when he was removed as leader.
Joice Runaida Mujuru,also known by her nom-de-guerre Teurai Ropa Nhongo,is a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2014. Previously she had served as a government minister. She also served as Vice-President of ZANU–PF. She was married to Solomon Mujuru until his death in 2011 and was long considered a potential successor to President Robert Mugabe,but in 2014 she was denounced for allegedly plotting against Mugabe. As a result of the accusations against her,Mujuru lost both her post as Vice-President and her position in the party leadership. She was expelled from the party a few months later,after which she formed the new Zimbabwe People First party.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is a Zimbabwean politician who is serving as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe,he held a series of cabinet portfolios and was Mugabe's Vice-President until November 2017,when he was dismissed before coming to power in a coup d'état. He secured his first full term as president in the disputed 2018 general election. Mnangagwa was re-elected in the August 2023 general election with 52.6% of the vote.
Articles related to Zimbabwe include:
Sydney Tigere Sekeramayi is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Defence between 2013 and 2017. He has been a minister in the Cabinet since independence in 1980,serving as Minister of Defence from 2001 to 2009 and Minister of State Security from 2009 to 2013.
Kembo Dugish Campbell Muleya Mohadi is a Zimbabwean politician and Vice-President of Zimbabwe since 8 September 2023. He previously served in the same role from 28 December 2017 to 1 March 2021,when he resigned. He briefly served as the Minister of Defence,Security and War Veterans in 2017. Previously he was Minister of State for National Security in the President's Office from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Home Affairs from 2002 to 2015.
Webster Kotiwani Shamu is a Zimbabwean politician and former Minister of Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs who was fired by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 21 May 2018. He previously served as Minister of Information and Publicity,and as Minister of State for Policy Implementation. He is a member of parliament representing the Chegutu constituency. The Cabinet of Zimbabwe was later dissolved on 27 November 2017.
Jabulani Sibanda is the former chairman of Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA),an organisation originally comprising all the veterans that fought during the Second Chimurenga or Zimbabwe War of Liberation which ended in 1979,although he took no part in the war. Under his leadership the ZNLWVA mobilised War Veterans and other ZANU PF sympathisers in the forced and often violent appropriation of farmland they claimed to have been stolen during colonisation. He was expelled from ZANU-PF in 2014 for being part of the Tsholotsho Declaration.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party,the ZANU –Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF),from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist,during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist,and as a socialist after the 1990s.
Constantino Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga,is a Zimbabwean politician and former army general currently serving,since 2017,as the First Vice-President of Zimbabwe under President Emmerson Mnangagwa. In August 2020,he added the Health Ministry to his portfolio.
The president of Zimbabwe is the head of state of Zimbabwe and head of the executive branch of the government of Zimbabwe. The president chairs the national cabinet and is the chief commanding authority of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The incumbent president is Emmerson Mnangagwa,installed on 24 November 2017 after his predecessor,Robert Mugabe resigned in the aftermath of a 2017 coup d'état.
General elections were held in Zimbabwe on 29 March 2008 to elect the President and Parliament. Because of Zimbabwe's dire economic situation,the elections were expected to provide incumbent President Robert Mugabe with his toughest electoral challenge to date. Mugabe's opponents were critical of the handling of the electoral process,and the government was accused of planning to rig the election. Human Rights Watch said that the election was likely to be "deeply flawed."
General elections were held in Zimbabwe on 30 July 2018 to elect the President and members of both houses of Parliament. Held eight months after the 2017 coup d'état,the election was the first since independence in which former President Robert Mugabe was not a candidate.
In November 2017,Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was removed as president and party leader of ZANU–PF and was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Patrick Zhuwao is a Zimbabwean businessman,farmer,and politician. He served as minister of public service,labour and social welfare between October and November 2017. He was expelled from the ruling ZANU–PF party during the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état.
Lacoste,also known as Team Lacoste,is the name of a political faction within ZANU-PF,the ruling party of Zimbabwe. It is allied to Emmerson Mnangagwa,who was sworn in as president on 24 November 2017,following the 2017 Zimbabwe coup d'état.
On 23 June 2018,a grenade exploded at White City Stadium in Bulawayo,Zimbabwe. The blast occurred at a ZANU–PF campaign rally,just after President Emmerson Mnangagwa had finished giving a speech. It was described as an assassination attempt against Mnangagwa,who was unharmed. The bombing resulted in at least 49 injured,including Vice-Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi,and other high-ranking government officials. Two security agents later died of their injuries.
Monica Mutsvangwa is Zimbabwe's Minister of Information,Publicity and Broadcasting Services. She has held cabinet roles in both the Robert Mugabe government and the Emmerson Mnangagwa government.