Kiki Divaris

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Vasilliki Babaletakis "Kiki" Divaris (c. 13 September 1925 in Sparta [1] – 5 December 2015) was a Greek fashion designer, model and the first white woman to have been declared a liberation war hero in Zimbabwe.

Sparta city-state in ancient Greece

Sparta was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece. In antiquity the city-state was known as Lacedaemon, while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece.

Zimbabwe republic in southern Africa

Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. The capital and largest city is Harare. A country of roughly 16 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most commonly used.

Contents

Early life

Divaris grew up in Cape Town. [2]

Career

Divaris was a close friend of Robert Mugabe, his first wife Sally, and current wife, Grace. She created the Miss Zimbabwe beauty pageant. [2] In 2012, at 88, she still ran the event [3] In 2013, she handed over the Miss Zim business to Mary Mubaiwa. [4]

Robert Mugabe former President of Zimbabwe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe is 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 chaired the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) group 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, although after the 1990s self-identified only as a socialist. His policies have been described as Mugabeism.

Miss Zimbabwe is a national Beauty pageant in Zimbabwe.

Death

Divaris died in her sleep on 5 December 2015, at the Borrowdale Clinic Trauma Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe, from pneumonia. [5] She was 90.

Harare City and Province in Zimbabwe

Harare is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 960.6 km2 (371 mi2) and an estimated population of 1,606,000 in 2009, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area in 2006. Situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region, Harare is a metropolitan province, which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres above sea level and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.

Pneumonia Infection of the lungs

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung affecting primarily the small air sacs known as alveoli. Typically symptoms include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and trouble breathing. Severity is variable.

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Miss World beauty contest

Miss World is the oldest running international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth, this pageant is one of the Big Four international beauty pageants—the most coveted beauty titles when it comes to international pageant competitions.

Zimbabwe National Army

The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primary branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces responsible for land-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army has its roots in the Rhodesian Army, which was raised between 1963 and 1964 after the breakup of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. A Joint High Command created in March 1980 to oversee integration of the formerly belligerent Rhodesian Security Forces, Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) officially established the Zimbabwe National Army in late 1980, nearly a year after the end of the Rhodesian Bush War.

Kiki is the given name of:

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References

  1. ↑ "Zimbabwe: Kiki, Thank You but It's Time to Rest". Allafrica.com. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 Thornycroft, Peta (7 December 2015). "Greek model and beauty industry expert becomes liberation war hero in Zimbabwe". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "I still have the capacity, says Kiki Divaris". Thestandard.co.zw. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  4. ↑ Sharon Muguwu (24 July 2013). "Miss Zim struggles to get contestants". Dailynezs.co.zw. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Mugugunyeki, Moses (6 December 2015). "Kiki Divaris dies". The Standard. Retrieved 23 December 2015.


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