Ambassador of Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom | |
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Incumbent Colonel Christian Katsande since 18 June 2018 | |
Style | His Excellency |
Appointer | Emmerson Mnangagwa |
Inaugural holder | Sir Francis James Newton |
Formation | 1924 (Southern Rhodesia) |
Website | Embassy of Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom and Ireland |
The ambassador of Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom is an officer of the Zimbabwean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the head of the Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom in London. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and also serves as Zimbabwe's non-resident accredited Ambassador to Ireland.
The ambassador is currently Colonel Christian Katsande. Having been a High Commission since Zimbabwe's formal independence in 1980, on Zimbabwe's departure from the Commonwealth of Nations in 2003, the High Commission became an Embassy. Based in Zimbabwe House on the Strand, London, the embassy dates back to the establishment of the High Commission of Southern Rhodesia in 1924 after that colony was granted a limited form of self-government in 1923. The office later became the High Commission of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1954 to 1963, the Southern Rhodesia High Commission from 1963 to 1965, and the Rhodesian Representative Office from 1965 to 1969. Between 2016 and 2018 the office was vacant, as the UK Government had rejected President Robert Mugabe's nominee, Ray Ndhlukula, for his role in the Mugabe government's land seizure program. [1]
Incumbent | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sir Francis James Newton | 1924 | 1930 | |
John Wallace Downie | 1930 | 1935 | [2] |
Stephen Martin Lanigan O'Keeffe | 1935 | 1946 | [3] [4] |
Kenneth MacKenzie Goodenough | 1946 | 1953 | [5] [6] |
Incumbent | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sir Gilbert Rennie | May 1954 | 1961 | [7] [8] |
Sir Albert Robinson | 1961 | 1963 | [9] |
Incumbent | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Evan Campbell | 1963 | 1965 | |
Andrew Skeen | 22 July 1965 | 12 November 1965 |
Incumbent | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sydney Frederick Brice | 12 November 1965 | 15 July 1969 | [10] [11] [12] |
Incumbent | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Robert Tatira Zwinoira | 1980 | 1984 | |
Herbert Murerwa | 1 March 1984 | 1990 | |
Stephen Chiketa | 1991 | 1993 | [13] |
Dr Ngoni Togarepi Chideya | 1993 | 1999 | [14] |
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi | 1999 | 7 December 2003 |
Incumbent | Start of term | End of term | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi | 7 December 2003 | 2005 | |
Gabriel Machinga | 2005 | 2016 | |
Vacant | 2016 | 2018 | [1] |
Christian Katsande | 18 June 2018 | date | [15] [16] |
Rhodesia, officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the de facto successor state to the British colony of Southern Rhodesia, which had been self-governing since achieving responsible government in 1923. A landlocked nation, Rhodesia was bordered by South Africa to the south, Bechuanaland to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest, and Mozambique to the east. From 1965 to 1979, Rhodesia was one of two independent states on the African continent governed by a white minority of European descent and culture, the other being South Africa.
Zimbabwe maintains relations with various countries around the world, and maintains close diplomatic relations with neighboring nations.
Harare, originally known as Salisbury, is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan area in 2019. 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.
Sir Edgar Cuthbert Fremantle Whitehead, was a Rhodesian politician. He was a longstanding member of the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly, although his career was interrupted by other posts and by illness. In particular he had poor eyesight, and wore very thick glasses, and later experienced deafness whilst in office. An ally of Sir Roy Welensky, he was Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1958 to 1962. His government was defeated in the 1962 general election by the Rhodesian Front.
Christopher William Dell is a career United States Foreign Service officer who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Angola, Zimbabwe, and Kosovo.
The Embassy of Zimbabwe in London is the diplomatic mission of Zimbabwe in the United Kingdom. It is located in Zimbabwe House, a Grade II* Listed Building at 429 Strand in central London. It was previously a High Commission and became an embassy after Zimbabwe's departure from the Commonwealth on 7 December 2003 in protest of international criticism of Robert Mugabe's regime's human rights record and its policies.
Geoffrey Nyarota is a Zimbabwean journalist and human rights activist. Born in colonial Southern Rhodesia, he trained as a teacher before beginning his career with a Zimbabwean state-owned newspaper, The Herald. As editor of the state-owned Bulawayo Chronicle in 1989, he helped to break the "Willowgate" scandal, which resulted in several resignations from the cabinet of President Robert Mugabe.
The Herald is a state-owned daily newspaper published in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.
Israel–Zimbabwe relations refers to foreign relations between Israel and Zimbabwe. Neither country has a resident ambassador.
United States–Zimbabwe relations are bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and the United States. Both countries share a common history and language as former British colonies.
Foreign relations exist between Australia and Zimbabwe. Both countries have full embassy level diplomatic relations. Australia currently maintains an embassy in Harare, and Zimbabwe maintains an embassy in Canberra.
Foreign relations are present between Australia and Finland. Diplomatic relations were established on 31 May 1949. Australia is represented in Finland through its embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, and through an honorary consulate in Helsinki. Finland has had an embassy in Canberra since 1978, alongside honorary consulate generals in Melbourne and Perth, honorary consulates in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, and Sydney, and an honorary vice-consulate in Cairns.
Mexico–Zimbabwe relations are the diplomatic relations between the United Mexican States and the Republic of Zimbabwe. Both nations are members of the Group of 15 and the United Nations.
The Rhodesia Information Centre (RIC), also known as the Rhodesian Information Centre, the Rhodesia Information Service, the Flame Lily Centre and the Zimbabwe Information Centre, represented the Rhodesian government in Australia from 1966 to 1980. As Australia did not recognise Rhodesia's independence it operated on an unofficial basis.
Air Vice-Marshal Harold Hawkins was an Australian-born air force officer and diplomat. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force between 1941 and 1945. He enlisted in what became the Royal Rhodesian Air Force in 1947, and was its commander from 1965 to 1969. Hawkins subsequently became the Rhodesian Accredited Diplomatic Representative to South Africa until 1980.