Ernest Leonard Bulle was an academic and politician who served as a minister in the governments of

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 ...

and Zimbabwe Rhodesia. He served in the

cabinet of Rhodesia This list includes ministers of the cabinet of Rhodesia from 11 November 1965, the date of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, to 1979. It includes ministers of Rhodesia's transitional government, which began following the 1978 Inter ...

as joint

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and Minister of Commerce and Industry alongside David Smith from 1978 to 1979 as part of the country's

Internal Settlement The Internal Settlement was an agreement which was signed on 3 March 1978 between Prime Minister of Rhodesia Ian Smith and the moderate African nationalist leaders comprising Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Ndabaningi Sithole and Senator Chief Jeremiah Chi ...

. He continued as commerce minister in the

government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia The government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia took office on 1 June 1979 under the terms of the Internal Settlement negotiated between the government of Rhodesia and moderate African nationalists. It ruled the internationally unrecognized country until, un ...

between June and December 1979. First elected to parliament in the

1979 Zimbabwe Rhodesia general election General elections were held in Rhodesia in April 1979,April 19 ...

, he stood unsuccessfully in the 1980 general election, which set the membership of the first parliament of the independent

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. Bulle was a member of the United African National Council and served as the party's second vice-president.

Early life, education, and family

Bulle was born in Tjolotjo,

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi r ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

. He came from the Ndebele people, but as an adult preferred

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

to the Ndebele language. He attended

Goromonzi High School Goromonzi High School is a secondary school located in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe. History Goromonzi school is located 35 kilometers from the Zimbabwean capital Harare, along the Harare-Mutare Road. The school was established in ...

, before studying at the University of Natal, where he graduated in 1959 with a degree in social studies or

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. In the late 1960s, he became the first Ndebele

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

student of the African languages department of the

University College of Rhodesia The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University o ...

. He was married 3 times, and had two daughters and one son from his first marriage, one daughter from his second marriage, and two daughters from his last marriage.

Career

After graduating from the University of Natal, Bulle worked for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

. During that time, he also took a course in foreign trade and commercial policy in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, sponsored by the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its pre ...

. After briefly working in industry, Bulle worked for

Rhodesia Railways The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), formerly Rhodesia Railways, is a state-owned company in Zimbabwe that operates the country's national railway system. It is headquartered in the city of Bulawayo. In addition to the headquarters, it has ...

, which operated in both Southern and

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

. He initially worked as a personnel officer or in the planning department. Later, he moved briefly to

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

to work in the planning and manpower localisation section of

Zambia Railways Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway company of Zambia, one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia. The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a link to ...

. He returned to

in 1971 to take a position as lecturer in the African languages department at the University of Rhodesia.

Politics

Bulle served as the second vice-president of the United African National Council, a political party led by Bishop Abel Muzorewa. After the signing of the

on 3 March 1978, Bulle was appointed joint

and Minister of Commerce and Industry the following 11/12 April, serving alongside co-minister David Smith. In October 1978, he announced on behalf of the government that "all discrimination" and racial segregation would be abolished in Rhodesia. In the 1979 general election, he was elected to Parliament to represent Matabeleland North Province. On 31 May 1979, he was appointed by Muzorewa to serve the

as Minister of Commerce and Industry. Bulle was an unsuccessful UANC candidate in the 1980 general election. He later reentered politics in the 1990s, in opposition to the ruling

ZANU–PF 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 under Robert Mugabe, first as prime ministe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulle, Ernest Date of birth missing Date of death missing Year of birth missing Year of death missing 20th-century linguists 20th-century Zimbabwean politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Northern Ndebele people People from Matabeleland North Province People in rail transport Finance ministers of Rhodesia Rhodesian politicians University of Natal alumni University of Zimbabwe alumni Academic staff of the University of Zimbabwe