Andre Sothern Holland, born to Douglas and Eva Holland, was a Farmer and Politician in Southern

Rhodesia 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 S ...

( Zimbabwe from 1979) in the 1970s and 1980s.

Personal life

Holland had three children in Rhodesia with his wife Susan Jessica (Browning) Holland: Michael, Jane and Anne. His South African grandfather, Arthur Herbert was personal secretary to

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...

His South African grandmother,

Madeleine Holland Madeleine may refer to: Common meanings * Madeleine (name), also Madeline, a feminine given name *Madeleine (cake), a traditional sweet cake from France * Mary Magdalene, also called the Madeleine Arts and entertainment * ''Madelein'' (1919 ...

, was a Poet and Academic who studied the

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

of modern-day of central and Southern Africa.

Career

As well as farming, a skill passed on to his son, Holland was also a passionate politician. Described as a "prominent member of Parliament" in April, 1981, Andre started his political career as an MP under Ian Smith's Government in 1970. He was known to believe in closing the wealth and land ownership gap between the white and black populations of Rhodesia. Following the change of geographic political boundaries (in which Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe) in 1979, Andre split from Ian Smith's party, the Rhodesian Front, to form an alternative. On April 21, 1981, The New York Times described this new party to be one more suited for the "liberal whites" of Zimbabwe. Following his resignation from the Rhodesian Front due to differing values, Holland noticed much support form his constituents, leading to the formation of the new party, the Democratic Party. He announced he planned to challenge the Rhodesian Front in upcoming elections. However, after a year of campaigning and three lost elections, the Democratic Party was disbanded.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Andre S Zimbabwean farmers Zimbabwean politicians 1931 births 2014 deaths 20th-century farmers