Simbarashe Simbanenduku Mumbengegwi (born 20 July 1945.) is a

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 ...

an politician and diplomat currently serving as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Monitoring Government Programmes. Previously he was acting Foreign Minister for a few days following the resignation of 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 ...

He had previously served as Zimbabwe's

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 2005 to 2017. From October to November 2017, he was Minister of Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion.

Life and career

Mumbengegwi was born in Chivi, Zimbabwe (then

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 ...

). After receiving his primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe, he attended

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, in the late 1960s and 1970s. Invariably known as Simba, he was the popular and affable president of the African Students Association, and also worked as a teacher. He was a

ZANU The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugab ...

activist in exile at that time and served as a ZANU representative during the 1970s: he was Deputy ZANU Chief Representative in Australia and the Far East from 1973 to 1976, then Chief Representative in Australia and the Far East from 1976 to 1978, and Chief Representative 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 ...

from 1978 to 1980. From 1980 to 1990, he was a member of parliament in the

House of Assembly of Zimbabwe The National Assembly of Zimbabwe, previously the House of Assembly until 2013, is the lower house of the Parliament of Zimbabwe. It was established upon Zimbabwe's independence in 1980 as one of two chambers of parliament. Between the abolition ...

from the

Midlands Province Midlands is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of and a population of 1,614,941 (2012). It is home to various peoples. Located at a central point in the country, it contains speakers of Shona, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho and Chewa, as well as of ...

, and he was the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the House of Assembly from 1980 to 1981. He joined the Cabinet as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1981, serving in that position until 1982, when he became Minister of Water Resources and Development. Later in the same year, he was moved to the position of Minister of National Housing, in which position he remained for two years. He was then Minister of Public Construction and National Housing from 1984 to 1988 and Minister of Transport from 1988 to 1990. From 1981 to 1984, he was Provincial Treasurer of ZANU-PF for the Midlands Province. From 1984 to 1994, he was a member of the

Central Committee of ZANU-PF Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, and he was the Central Committee's Deputy Secretary for Publicity and Information from 1984 to 1989. Mumbengegwi was Zimbabwe's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1990 to 1995; while there, he was vice-president of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

from 1990 to 1991 as well as a member of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

from 1991 to 1992. He twice served as

President of the Security Council The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the 15 member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the President of t ...

, in February 1991 and April 1992. He was subsequently Ambassador to

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 ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and Permanent Representative to the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the ...

in 1995. He later became High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ambassador to Ireland in 1999, remaining there until 2005 (although he became Ambassador to the United Kingdom rather than High Commissioner in 2003, upon Zimbabwe's withdrawal from the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

). He became a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament in 2005. On 15 April 2005, he was appointed as

in a cabinet reshuffle, replacing

Stan Mudenge Isaak Stanislaus Gorerazvo Mudenge (17 December 1941 – 4 October 2012) was a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005 and as Minister of Higher Education from 2005 to 2012. ...

. In the March 2008 parliamentary election, Mumbengegwi was nominated by ZANU-PF as its candidate for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

seat from Shurugwi-Zvishavane in the Midlands. He won the seat according to official results, receiving 24,055 votes against 11,988 for Vincent Gwarazimba of the

Movement for Democratic Change Movement for Democratic Change or MDC may refer to: * Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), the former main opposition party in Zimbabwe ** Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai Congress 2006, the second MDC–T congress ...

(MDC). When the ZANU-PF–MDC

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

was sworn in on 13 February 2009, Mumbengegwi was retained as Minister of Foreign Affairs."Cabinet sworn in amid chaotic scenes"
, Newzimbabwe.com, 13 February 2009.

References

External links

Transcript of David Frost interview
of Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and

Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secret ...

on 6 March 2005. } {{DEFAULTSORT:Mumbengegwi, Simbarashe 1945 births Members of the Senate of Zimbabwe Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Zimbabwean diplomats Living people Permanent Representatives of Zimbabwe to the United Nations Government ministers of Zimbabwe Ambassadors of Zimbabwe to Belgium Ambassadors of Zimbabwe to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Zimbabwe to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Zimbabwe to the European Union Ambassadors of Zimbabwe to Ireland Ambassadors of Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom High Commissioners of Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom Foreign ministers of Zimbabwe

Life and career

See also

References

External links