List of Presidents of Zimbabwe

Last updated

President of the
Republic of Zimbabwe
Flag of the President of Zimbabwe.svg
Presidential Standard
Emmerson Mnangagwa Official Portrait.jpg
Incumbent
Emmerson Mnangagwa
since 24 November 2017
Style His Excellency
(Formal, in international correspondence)
Comrade President
(Informal)
Residence State House
Appointerpopular vote
Term length 5 years, renewable once [1]
Inaugural holder Canaan Banana
Formation18 April 1980;42 years ago (1980-04-18)
Deputy Vice-President of Zimbabwe
SalaryUS$200,000 (2014) [2]
Website www.theopc.gov.zw

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.

Contents

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.

History of the office

The office of the president of Zimbabwe was established in 1980, when the country gained independence from the United Kingdom. Per the Lancaster House Agreement, Zimbabwe was originally a parliamentary republic, with the president serving in mostly a ceremonial role. Real power was vested in the prime minister, Robert Mugabe.

A Methodist minister, Canaan Banana, became the first president, serving until 1987. He resigned in 1987 shortly after the Constitution was amended to make the presidency an executive post, and the office of Prime Minister was abolished. Mugabe was appointed to succeed him, and was elected in his own right in 1990 and four more times thereafter.

The office of Prime Minister was restored as a result of the 2008–09 political negotiations, but abolished again following the 2013 constitutional referendum. Under the rules adopted by the same referendum, the president serves a maximum of two five-year terms. [1] This did not have a retroactive effect on past terms of office already served or currently being served as of 2013. [3]

2017 coup d'état and Mugabe's resignation

On 14 November 2017, armed military personnel from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces invaded the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation studios in Harare before Major General Sibusiso Moyo came out on a live television broadcast declaring that the army had activated an operation that would later be known as "Operation Restore Legacy." Moyo stated that President Mugabe and his family would be safe and their security would be guaranteed, as the operation was only targeting criminals around him. What followed thereafter was a well-planned and carefully executed crackdown on members of a faction within the ruling ZANU-PF party known as G40. The Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Central Intelligence Organisation, both deemed loyal to the president, were neutralised by the army, which arrested some of their top leaders.

On 21 November 2017, facing all-but certain impeachment from a combined session of the House of Assembly and Senate, Mugabe resigned as president. Former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as his replacement on 24 November 2017.

List of presidents of Rhodesia

Parties

   Rhodesian Front

Symbols

  Denotes Acting President

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)		Term of officePolitical partyCabinet
Took officeLeft officeDuration
Officer Administering the Government (1965–1970) [lower-alpha 1]
–
No image.png
Clifford Dupont
(1905–1978)
Acting		17 November 1965 [lower-alpha 2] 16 December 196529 days RF Smith
–
No image.png
Clifford Dupont
(1905–1978)		16 December 19652 March 19704 years, 76 days RF Cabinet
President of the Republic of Rhodesia (1970–1979)
–
No image.png
Clifford Dupont
(1905–1978)
Acting		2 March 197016 April 197045 days RF Smith
1
No image.png
Clifford Dupont
(1905–1978)		16 April 197031 December 1975
(Resigned)		5 years, 259 days RF Smith
–
No image.png
Henry Everard
(1897–1980)
Acting		31 December 197514 January 197614 days RF Smith
2
No image.png
John Wrathall
(1913–1978)		14 January 197631 August 1978 †2 years, 229 days RF Smith
–
No image.png
Henry Everard
(1897–1980)
Acting		31 August 19781 November 197862 days RF Smith
–
No image.png
Jack Pithey
(1903–?)
Acting		1 November 19785 March 1979124 days RF Transitional government
–
No image.png
Henry Everard
(1897–1980)
Acting		5 March 19791 June 197988 days RF Transitional government

Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979)

Under pressure from the international community to satisfy the civil rights movement by Blacks in Rhodesia, an "Internal Settlement" was drawn up between the Ian Smith administration of Rhodesia and moderate African nationalist parties not involved in armed resistance. Meanwhile, the government continued to battle armed resistance from both Soviet and Chinese backed Marxist liberation movements it referred to as "terrorists"- the Rhodesian Bush War was an extension of the Cold War, being a proxy conflict between the West and East, similar to those in Vietnam and Korea.

The "Internal Settlement" agreement led to relaxation of education, property and income qualifications for voter rolls, resulting in the first ever Black majority electorate. The country's civil service, judiciary, police and armed forces continued to be administered by the same officials as before, of whom most were Whites, due to the composition of the upper-middle class of the period. [4]

No.PresidentTerm of office
Duration in years and days		PartyPrevious office
1 JZGumede.jpg Josiah Zion Gumede
OLG
1919–1989		1 June 197912 December 1979 United African National Council
(UANC)		None
195 days

Governors of Southern Rhodesia

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)		Term of officeMonarch Prime Minister
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Christopher Soames (cropped).jpg The Lord Soames
(1920–1987)		11 December 197918 April 1980129 daysPosition abolished

The Lancaster House Agreement stipulated that control over the country be returned to the United Kingdom in preparation for elections to be held in the spring of 1980. From 12 December 1979 to 17 April 1980, Zimbabwe Rhodesia was again the British colony of Southern Rhodesia. On 18 April 1980, Southern Rhodesia became the independent Republic of Zimbabwe.

Presidents of Zimbabwe (1980–present)

No.PortraitPresidentTook officeLeft officeTime in officePartyElection
1
Canaan Banana.jpg
Banana, Canaan Canaan Banana
(1936–2003)		18 April 198031 December 19877 years, 257 days ZANU 1980
1986
2
Robert Mugabe May 2015 (cropped).jpg
Mugabe, Robert Robert Mugabe
(1924–2019)		31 December 198721 November 201729 years, 325 days ZANU–PF 1987
1990
1996
2002
2008
–
Phelekezela Mphoko (cropped).jpg
Mphoko, Phelekezela Phelekezela Mphoko
(born 1940)
Acting		21 November 201724 November 20173 days ZANU–PF –
3
Emmerson Mnangagwa Official Portrait (cropped).jpg
Mnangagwa, Emmerson Emmerson Mnangagwa
(born 1942)		24 November 2017Incumbent5 years, 13 days ZANU–PF 2018

Phelekezela Mphoko was the second (and only sitting) vice-president at the time of Mugabe's resignation on 21 November 2017. Mphoko may have been acting president of Zimbabwe for three days until Mnangagwa's accession to the presidency. However, as Mphoko was not in the country at the time, and due to the unusual circumstances, any official standing on this is unclear and may never be known. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Rank by time in office

RankPresidentTime in office
1 Robert Mugabe 29 years, 325 days
2 Canaan Banana 7 years, 257 days
3 Emmerson Mnangagwa 5 years, 13 days

Latest election

Mnangagwa ran for re-election in 2018 as the ZANU–PF candidate. [9] Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition party MDC-T, had died earlier in the year and been replaced by Nelson Chamisa. Chamisa ran as the MDC Alliance candidate against Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa was re-elected without the need for a runoff, winning 50.8% of the vote to Chamisa's 44.3%. The election result was disputed by the MDC Alliance.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Bulawayo bombing</span> Bomb explosion in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Zimbabweans hope for democratic rebirth". BBC News. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Gumbo, Lloyd (22 April 2014). "President reveals monthly salary". The Herald . Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  3. ↑ Allison, Simon (26 March 2013). "Even Zimbabwe's constitution waits for Mugabe to pass the baton, or pass away". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Will We Destroy Zimbabwe-Rhodesia?, Sarasota Journal , July 18, 1979, page 4
  5. ↑ "Mphoko is the Acting President for now". Bulawayo 24. 22 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Experts clear the air on succession". The Herald. 22 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Zimbabwe has 'phantom-like' acting president". News 24. 23 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "Where is Mphoko, legally the acting President?". The Zimbabwe Mail. 22 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Zanu-PF reveals Mnangagwa as 2018 presidential candidate". The Zimbabwean. AFP. 19 November 2017.
  1. ↑ During this period, Queen Elizabeth II was still considered to be the official Head of State.
  2. ↑ Between 11 and 17 November 1965, the position of Officer Administering the Government was vacant.
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