Robert Gabriel Mugabe National Youth Day is a public holiday in

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 ...

commemorating former President

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) 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 ...

. The

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 ...

Youth League has commemorated Robert Mugabe on his birthday in February for years as part of its February 21st Movement which was established in 1986. The youth arm of the ruling party lobbied for the former president's birthday to be declared a national holiday for what the organization says was the leader's role in empowering the country's youth. The day was formally recognized as a national holiday on November 27, 2017, three days after President

Emmerson Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (, American English, US: (); born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Muga ...

was sworn in as leader of Zimbabwe following a coup which led to the resignation of Mugabe as President. The holiday was formalized through the publication of a statutory instrument on The Herald under the virtue of section 2 of the Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business Act.

References

{{reflist Public holidays in Zimbabwe February observances 2017 introductions Youth Day Youth in Zimbabwe