President of the Republic of Zimbabwe | |
---|---|
Mutungamiri weNyika ye Zimbabwe (Shona) | |
Office of the President of Zimbabwe Executive branch of the Zimbabwean Government | |
Style | His Excellency (Formal, in international correspondence) Comrade President (Informal) |
Residence | State House |
Appointer | popular vote |
Term length | 5 years, renewable once [1] |
Inaugural holder | Canaan Banana |
Formation | 18 April 1980 |
Deputy | Vice-President of Zimbabwe |
Salary | US$200,000 annually (2014) [2] |
Website | www |
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. 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.
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] As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The term limit has not been met by any president yet. [4]
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.
No. | Portrait | President | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Election |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Canaan Banana (1936–2003) | 18 April 1980 | 31 December 1987 | 7 years, 257 days | ZANU | – | |
2 | Robert Mugabe (1924–2019) | 31 December 1987 | 21 November 2017 | 29 years, 325 days | ZANU–PF | 1990 1996 2002 2008 2013 | |
– | Phelekezela Mphoko (born 1940) Acting | 21 November 2017 | 24 November 2017 | 3 days | ZANU–PF | – | |
3 | Emmerson Mnangagwa (born 1942) | 24 November 2017 | Incumbent | 6 years, 192 days | ZANU–PF | 2018 2023 |
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 | President | Time in office |
---|---|---|
1 | Robert Mugabe | 29 years, 325 days |
2 | Canaan Banana | 7 years, 257 days |
3 | Emmerson Mnangagwa | 6 years, 192 days |
Emmerson Mnangagwa ran for election in 2023 as the ZANU–PF candidate. [9] Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition party MDC-T, died in 2018 and was replaced by Nelson Chamisa. Chamisa ran as the MDC Alliance candidate against Emmerson Mnangagwa. Emmerson 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.
The politics of Zimbabwe occurs in a society deeply divided along lines of race, ethnicity, gender and geography. The ZANU–PF party has historically been dominant in Zimbabwe politics. The party, which was led by Robert Mugabe from 1980 to 2017, has used the powers of the state to intimidate, imprison and otherwise hobble political opposition in Zimbabwe, as well as use state funds and state media to advance the interests of the party.
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.
Jonathan Nathaniel Mlevu Moyo is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Higher Education from 2015 to 2017. He was previously Minister of Information and Publicity from 2000 to 2005 and again from 2013 to 2015. He was elected to the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe as an independent candidate in 2005 and 2008. He is considered the core architect of the AIPPA and POSA restrictive legislation.
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.
Articles related to Zimbabwe include:
Nelson Chamisa is a Zimbabwean politician and the former President of the Citizens Coalition For Change. He served as Member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for Kuwadzana East, Harare. Chamisa was the MDC Alliance's candidate for president in the 2018 general election, having previously been the leader of the party's youth assembly. He was the Presidential candidate for the Citizens Coalition for Change in the 2023 Zimbabwean Presidential election. He has served as the former chairperson of national youth for the same party as well as the Secretary for Information and Publicity for the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). In 2003, at the age of 25, Chamisa became the youngest Member of Parliament. Chamisa was also the youngest cabinet minister in Government of National Unity of Zimbabwe in 2009.
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.
Patrick Antony Chinamasa is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as the minister of various cabinet ministries. Previously he served as the Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion and the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
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.
Ignatius Morgen Chiminya Chombo is a Zimbabwean politician who was Finance Minister of Zimbabwe in 2017. Previously he has served in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe as Minister of Home Affairs from 2015 to 2017, Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development from 2000 to 2015.
Webster Kotiwani Shamu is a Zimbabwean politician and former Minister of Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs who was fired by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 21 May 2018. He previously served as Minister of Information and Publicity, and as Minister of State for Policy Implementation. He is a member of parliament representing the Chegutu constituency. The Cabinet of Zimbabwe was later dissolved on 27 November 2017.
Phelekezela Mphoko is a Zimbabwean politician, diplomat, businessman and former military commander who served as Second Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 2014 until 2017, as well as Zimbabwe's ambassador to Russia, Botswana and South Africa. Legally, Mphoko was the acting President of Zimbabwe from 21–24 November 2017, however, as he was not in the country at the time, official standing on this is unclear. Mphoko's term as vice-president was ended by President Emmerson Mnangagwa following the dissolution of the cabinet on 27 November 2017.
The Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T) is a centre-left political party and was the main opposition party in the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 elections. After the split of the original Movement for Democratic Change in 2005, the MDC–T remained the major opposition faction, while a smaller faction, the Movement for Democratic Change – Ncube, or MDC–N, was led by Welshman Ncube.
General elections were held in Zimbabwe on 30 July 2018 to elect the President and members of both houses of Parliament. Held eight months after the 2017 coup d'état, the election was the first since independence in which former President Robert Mugabe was not a candidate.
In November 2017, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was removed as president and party leader of ZANU–PF and was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Generation 40 (G40) was a faction of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF). The G40 was an informal group of ZANU–PF politicians working on generation change by replacing the older officials of the party. The group promoted itself as the younger, savvy, and well educated ZANU–PF members. It was said to be led by Jonathan Moyo and ZANU–PF political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere but fronted by Grace Mugabe, the former First Lady of Zimbabwe.
The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance is an electoral coalition of seven political parties formed to contest Zimbabwe's 2018 general election. After the 2018 election, a dispute arose over the use of the name MDC Alliance leading the MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa to found the Citizens Coalition for Change.
The following lists events from the year 2018 in 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.