Martin Meredith | |
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Occupation | Author and commentator |
Genre | Biographies, History |
Martin Meredith is a historian, journalist, and biographer. He has written several books on Africa and its modern history.
Meredith first worked as a foreign correspondent in Africa for The Observer and Sunday Times , then as a research fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford. [1] Living near Oxford, he is now an independent commentator and author.
Meredith's writing has been described as authoritative and well-documented, despite the pessimism so often imposed upon his subject matter. [2]
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served as the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC). Before that, he was deputy president under Nelson Mandela from 1994 to 1999.
The Gukurahundi was a series of mass killings in Zimbabwe which were committed from 1982 until the Unity Accord in 1987. The name derives from a Shona-language term which loosely translates to "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains".
Ian Douglas Smith was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 1964 to 1979. He was the country's first leader to be born and raised in Rhodesia, and led the predominantly white government that unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom in November 1965 in opposition to the UK's demands for the implementation of majority rule as a condition for independence. His 15 years in power were defined by the country's international isolation and involvement in the Rhodesian Bush War, which pitted Rhodesia's armed forces against the Soviet- and Chinese-funded military wings of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU).
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander and political leader. A socialist in the tradition of Marxism–Leninism, he served as the first President of Mozambique from the country's independence in 1975.
Land reform in Zimbabwe officially began in 1980 with the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement, to reverse the distribution of land that resulted from the colonial occupation of the country by white people. The colonial distribution that started in 1884, took land from black people, land the black people called home and used for habitation and production as subsistence farmers. The colonisers drove black people to dry and unproductive land while they shared prime and productive land amongst themselves resulting in a population of 3% owning 51% of the land while 4.3 million black people owned 42%, with the remainder being land for towns and other non-farming activities. The white people enjoyed superior political and economic status, but this was resisted, leading to war, and political independence in 1980. At independence, the Lancaster House Agreement was signed and it had a clause that prohibitted return of land, except where a white person had surrendered or offered it for sale. This did not return enough land until the accelerated land reform programme started in 2000. The programme altered the racial imbalance of land ownership.
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.
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.
The 5th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA). The 5th Brigade was created in 1981 from three former battalions of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). It later incorporated over 3,000 ex-ZANLA guerrillas from various units. The brigade was based in Gweru and participated in the Mozambican Civil War as well as a genocide known as the Gukurahundi which targeted Ndebele civilians and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas.
Jonny Steinberg is a South African writer and scholar.
Benjamin Pogrund OIS is a South African-born Israeli author.
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.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, and statesman who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.
Anton Muziwakhe Lembede OLG was a South African activist and founding president of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He has been described as "the principal architect of South Africa's first full-fledged ideology of African nationalism." Lembede had a strong influence on Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo. Lembede was regarded as the progenitor of the "Programme of Action" that was adopted as a guiding document by the 1949 meeting of the African National Congress. He died in 1947, aged 33.
Ruth Weiss is a writer who focuses on anti-racism in all its forms. She is a well-known anti-apartheid journalist and activist, exiled by South Africa and Rhodesia for her writings. She is based in Denmark and writes in both English and German. Her young adult, historical fiction reflects her battles against racism in Germany and Africa.
The modern political history of Zimbabwe starts with the arrival of white people to what was dubbed Southern Rhodesia in the 1890s. The country was initially run by an administrator appointed by the British South Africa Company. The prime ministerial role was first created in October 1923, when the country achieved responsible government, with Sir Charles Coghlan as its first Premier. The third premier, George Mitchell, renamed the post prime minister in 1933.
The 1981 Entumbane uprising, also known as the Battle of Bulawayo or Entumbane II, occurred between 8 and 12 February 1981 in and around Bulawayo, Zimbabwe amid political tensions in the newly independent state. Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas, mainly in the city's western suburb of Entumbane, rebelled, creating a situation that threatened to develop into a fresh civil war, barely a year after the end of the Bush War. The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) and other white-commanded elements of the former Rhodesian Security Forces, fighting for the Zimbabwean government as part of the new Zimbabwe National Army, put down the uprising. Groups of Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) fighters attacked both ZIPRA and the government forces during the revolt, which followed a smaller outbreak of fighting between guerrillas in November 1980.
Cecil Williams (1909–1979) was an English-South African theatre director and anti-apartheid activist.
Africa–North Korea relations refers to the diplomatic relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the continent of Africa. Many African nations maintain a close relationship with North Korea, despite United Nations sanctions on North Korea.
The Mugabe family is a Zimbabwean family. Many of its members are involved in politics and business. It includes former president Robert Mugabe and former first lady Grace Mugabe.
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