Who is Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe?

Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

Biography of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe

TASS DOSSIER. On September 6, 2019, it became known that the ex-president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, died at the age of 95.

Origin, education

Robert Mugabe was born February 21, 1924 in the village of Kutama near the city of Salisbury (the capital of Southern Rhodesia, since 1982 – Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe) in the family of carpenter Gabriel Mugabe Matibiri and teacher Bona Mugabe. Belongs to the subethnic group of the Shona people – zezur. When Robert was 10 years old, his father left to work in the city of Bulawayo, where he eventually created a new family. The mother brought up the children.

He studied at the Catholic Mission School, then at the Jesuit College of St. Francis Xavier. In 1942, Mugabe received a teacher’s diploma and taught for several years in African schools in Southern Rhodesia. In 1950, he received a scholarship to continue his education at the College of Forthar University (South African Union), which he graduated in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree in humanities. In subsequent years, he combined the work of a teacher in schools and colleges of Southern and Northern Rhodesia with the continuation of education through distance learning programs. In 1953 he defended his bachelor’s degree in pedagogy at the University of South Africa, and in 1958 he graduated from the bachelor of economics at the University of London.Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

The beginning of a political career

In 1958, Mugabe moved to Ghana, a year before gaining independence from the UK, taught at St. Mary’s College of Education. While in Ghana, was inspired by the ideas of Pan-Africanism. There he met his future wife, Sally Hayfron, until her death in 1992, she remained not only his wife, but also a wrestling comrade.

In 1960, Mugabe went home to inform his family of his engagement to Sally. During his stay in Salisbury, he participated in a rally of black people against new discriminatory measures by the government of Southern Rhodesia, giving a speech on the achievements of Ghana and Marxist ideology. A few weeks later, he was invited to join the National Democratic Party, led by Joshua Nkomo. Mugabe received the post of secretary of public relations, and also led the youth wing of the NDP. In 1961, it was banned, but was soon actually recreated under the new name the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU, Zimbabwe African People’s Union).

In August 1963, Mugabe, as a proponent of an immediate transition to armed guerrilla warfare, left the ZAPU and became one of the founders of the new Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), created on the territory of independent Tanganyika (since 1964 – Tanzania) , took the post of Secretary General. Upon returning to Rhodesia in 1964, Mugabe, among other 800 African activists, was arrested and spent 10 years in prison. In prison, he continued to engage in self-education, received three more university degrees. He also organized training for his comrades, and through his spouse he kept in touch with the active members of the party and carried out general leadership of the partisan struggle.Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

ZANU leader

In 1974, Mugabe was released from prison under pressure from the South African government, which was trying to establish relations with “front-line states” (Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania). After his release, he moved to Mozambique, where he was engaged in the reorganization of ZANU. At this time, he finally established himself as the leader of ZANU and gained unquestioned authority among the fighters of his fighting wing.

In 1976, with the participation of the presidents of Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique, who supported the African national liberation movement of Southern Rhodesia, ZANU Robert Mugabe and ZAPU Joshua Nkomo agreed to create a united Patriotic Front (PF). At the same time, the contradictions that existed between them did not disappear, both parties maintained the independence of political and military structures. In addition to the ethnic factor (while ZANU supported mainly the Shona, ZAPU was more popular among the Ndebele), they were divided by disagreements on issues of political strategy. ZAPU was close to the African National Congress of South Africa and adhered to the pro-Soviet course, while Robert Mugabe and ZANU as a whole experienced a great influence of Maoism and, as a result, were oriented primarily on cooperation with China.Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

In 1978, the Rhodesian government of Ian Smith was forced to begin a search for a peaceful solution to the conflict with parties and movements representing the African majority. At the initiative of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a constitutional conference was held in Lancaster Castle in London in September – December 1979, where representatives of the Rhodesian authorities and moderate African parties who collaborated with the Smith regime, as well as leaders of the rebel groups Mugabe and Nkomo, were invited. The result of the conference was the signing on December 21 of peace agreements, according to which democratic elections were to be held in February 1980 and no later than two months after the elections, the independence of Zimbabwe was proclaimed. The white minority, in turn,

Prime Minister

Following the results of the elections held in February 1980, ZANU-PF won, gaining 57 seats in parliament, and Mugabe was elected prime minister at a parliament meeting on March 4 of that year. The victory in the Mugabe elections was ensured not only by reliance on the Shawn people dominating in the country, but also by more radical rhetoric and a political program (compared to the moderate Nkomo program). However, when he came to power, he began to pursue a rather pragmatic policy aimed at both calming the white minority and working with supporters of Nkomo, who received the post of Minister of the Interior in the government.

In 1982, Nkomo was charged with conspiring against the Mugabe government and dismissed. This provoked a bloody clash between the Shona and the Ndebele, followed by a military operation against the Ndebele of the Zimbabwean army, which consisted mainly of the Shona. The conflict was resolved only in 1987 by the signing of agreements between Mugabe and Nkomo, according to which the ZAPU party was dissolved and its activists included in the ZANU-PF.Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

On November 20, 1987, the Zimbabwean parliament passed an amendment to the constitution abolishing the post of prime minister and transferring power to the president.

The president

On December 30, 1987, deputies of both houses of parliament at a joint meeting elected Robert Mugabe as president of the country (voting took place on an uncontested basis). On December 31, 1987, he officially took office. In 1990, he was elected president in the general election, having received over 83% of the vote, and in 1996 he was re-elected with a result of 92.8%.

The favorable economic situation, which allowed Mugaba to carry out popular reforms in the early 1990s, gave way to a recession in the second half of the decade. Reduced investment, budget deficits, corruption, rising inflation, and often rash spending by the government have led Zimbabweans to become more dissatisfied with Mugabe’s policies. The support of the white population during the election of the opposition political “Movement for Democratic Change” (PDP) was the reason for the revision of government policy towards white farmers. Despite the fact that at a referendum in February 2000, the population opposed the draft new constitution, which provided for the alienation of land from white landowners without redemption, the authorities actually sanctioned the start of violent seizures of “whites” farms by war veterans of independence. The massive expropriation and exodus of white farmers from the country exacerbated the socioeconomic crisis and led to the imposition of sanctions by the United States and the European Union against Zimbabwe and its leaders, including Robert Mugabe.Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

Nevertheless, in the 2002 elections, Mugabe again won, receiving the support of 56.2% of voters. In 2006, at his suggestion, a law was passed on the postponement of the presidential election for two years in order to combine them with parliamentary elections.

In the 2008 elections, Mugabe for the first time did not receive the support of the majority of voters, losing to the leader of the Democratic Party Morgan Tsvangirai (43.2 against 47.8%). A second round was required to determine the winner. A few days before the meeting, Tsvangirai suddenly announced the withdrawal of his candidacy, citing pressure from the authorities. As a result, Mugabe was re-elected president, but in order to overcome the political crisis, he had to agree to appoint Tsvangirai as prime minister.

On July 31, 2013, Mugabe was once again re-elected, receiving 61% of the vote. Following the 2013 election, the post of Prime Minister was again abolished.

Despite the abundance of criticism addressed both from outside and inside the country, allegations of human rights violations, election fraud and the persecution of the opposition, Mugabe continues to remain popular among a large part of the Zimbabwean population, as well as the image of a fighter against colonialism and a defender of the rights of native Africans from exploitation from the western states and companies.Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

In July 2017, at the summit of the African Union (AU), he announced that he was donating to the organization about $ 1 million received from the auctioning of his pedigree cattle. Thus, he decided to set an example for his colleagues in the search for domestic African sources of AU funding.

On November 15, 2017, a group of senior military supporters of former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was fired on November 6 for “disloyalty,” placed Robert Mugabe and his family under house arrest. On November 19, at a special meeting of the central committee of ZANU-PF, Robert Mugabe was removed from the party leadership. On the same day, ZANU-PF issued an ultimatum, according to which he should resign as president, otherwise an impeachment procedure would be launched against him.

On November 21, during a joint meeting of the two chambers of parliament dedicated to his removal from power, Robert Mugabe sent a statement to the Speaker of the National Assembly (lower house) Jacob Mudende on his voluntary resignation.

Awards

In 1981 he was awarded the International Human Rights Award. In 2015, he received the Confucius Peace Prize (PRC). He has the title of Honorary Doctor of Science at the University. Ahmadu Bello, (Nigeria, 1980); Howard University (Washington, 1981).

In 1994, Robert Mugabe was awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (Great Britain). In 2008, he was stripped of his knighthood “for human rights violations” during the political crisis following the 2008 presidential election. A year earlier, he became the first person to be deprived of the title of Honorary Doctor of the University of Edinburgh (Great Britain, received in 1984).

The name of Robert Mugabe is Harare International Airport and one of the streets of the Zimbabwean capital. They were not renamed after the change of power in November 2017. In addition, since November 2017, Mugabe’s birthday, February 21, has been declared Robert Mugabe’s National Youth Day.Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

Personal information

Robert Mugabe was fluent in English, French, Sean, and Ndebele. He was a Catholic.

After the death of Sally Hayfron in 1992, he married Grace Mugabe (born in 1965, nee Marufu). From his second wife, he had two sons – Robert Peter and Bellarmin Chatungu and daughter Bonu. The only child from his first marriage – the son of Nhamojenik – died at the age of three from malaria. Grace Mugabe is widely known for her addiction to luxurious lifestyle, extravagant behavior and resonant – often scandalous – actions. So, in 2014, the academic community and student movements of the country were outraged by the award of a Ph.D. by the University of Zimbabwe two months after its official enrollment and without publishing a dissertation. Discontent spilled over into protests. Since 2014, Grace Mugabe served as head of the women’s league of the ZANU-PF party and was a member of the party’s political bureau. It was considered as one of the possible successors to Mugabe. Was removed from all party posts on November 19, 2017. In December 2018, South African police issued an arrest warrant for Grace Mugabe for beating a South African model Gabriele Angels in August 2017.Who is Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe? How Old is Robert Mugabe? Robert Mugabe’s life?

Bona Mugabe graduated from Hong Kong University (2011), studied in Singapore. Currently married, has two children.

Grace Mugabe also has children from their first marriage (the eldest son, Russell Goreraza, is engaged in mining).

Under the terms of his resignation, Mugabe was guaranteed safety from further persecution, inviolability of property and a life-long pension equal to his presidential salary of $ 150 thousand per month, half of which will be paid to Grace Mugabe after his death.