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.
The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant socialist organisation that fought against white-minority rule in Rhodesia,formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) in 1963. ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugabe and Ndabaningi Sithole,later respectively called ZANU–PF and ZANU–Ndonga. These two sub-divisions ran separately at the 1980 general election,where ZANU–PF has been in power ever since,and ZANU–Ndonga a minor opposition party.
Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) from 1961 until it merged in 1987 with Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) to form ZANU–PF after an internal military crackdown called Gukurahundi in western Zimbabwe,mostly on ethnic Ndebele ZAPU supporters.
Ndabaningi Sithole was the founder of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU),a militant,nationalist organisation that opposed the government of Rhodesia,in July 1963. Sithole's father was Ndau and his mother was Ndebele. He worked as a United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (UCCZ) minister. He spent 10 years in prison after the government banned ZANU. A rift along tribal lines split ZANU in 1975,and he lost the 1980 elections to Robert Mugabe.
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.
Arthur Guseni Oliver Mutambara is a Zimbabwean politician. He became the president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in February 2006. He has worked as a director and CEO of Africa Technology and Business Institute since September 2003. Under a September 2008 power-sharing agreement,Mutambara served in the government as one of two Deputy Prime Ministers from 2009 to 2013.
Aeneas Soko Chigwedere was a Zimbabwean politician,historian,educationist,and traditional leader. He served as the Minister of Education,Sports,&Culture since August 2001,and was appointed the Resident Minister and Governor of Mashonaland East Province in August 2008. He was installed as Headman Svosve Mubayiwa on 10 March 2008. On 22 January 2021,he died at his farm near Marondera following COVID-19 related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe.
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.
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Dumiso Dabengwa was a Zimbabwean politician. He served as the head of Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) intelligence during the Rhodesian Bush War.
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.
Simbarashe Herbert Stanley Makoni is a Zimbabwean politician and was a candidate for the March 2008 presidential election against incumbent Robert Mugabe. He was Minister of Finance and Economic Development in President Robert Mugabe's cabinet from 2000 to 2002. He faced strong opposition during the Economic Change in Zimbabwe in the early 2000s as his policies contradicted those of the rest of the ZANU-PF party.
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.
Patrick Kombayi was a Zimbabwean businessman,a former mayor of Gweru and an active member of the Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai faction in the Midlands Province. He served in the Senate of Zimbabwe for the Chirumhanzu-Gweru senatorial constituency. Kombayi,a student of Robert Mugabe,was the first black train driver in Zimbabwe. He joined Rhodesia Railways after pursuing an unsatisfying career as a schoolteacher. Posted to Zambia,Kombayi became involved with the Zimbabwe African National Union.
In January,2008 the BBC reported that Simba Makoni might be nominated to run against Robert Mugabe in the Zimbabwean 2008 presidential election.
Campaigning for the first round of the presidential election held in Zimbabwe on 29 March 2008 took place from February to March. There were three major candidates:President Robert Mugabe of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF),Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change,and the independent candidate Simba Makoni.
Sekai Holland is a Zimbabwean former politician who served as Minister of State for National Healing,Reconciliation and Integration in the administrations of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Sekai has been involved in campaigning on a number of human rights issues,including those relating to Aboriginal Australians,apartheid in South Africa and the women's rights and democracy in Zimbabwe.
General elections were held in Zimbabwe on 31 July 2013. Incumbent President Robert Mugabe was re-elected,whilst his ZANU–PF party won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.
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."
