The president of Rhodesia was the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

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 So ...

from 1970 to 1979. As Rhodesia reckoned itself a

parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...

rather than a presidential republic at the time, the president's post was almost entirely ceremonial, and the real power continued to be vested in Rhodesia's

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1 ...

. Two individuals held the office of president, while two others served as acting presidents. Most were of British descent, but

Clifford Dupont Clifford Walter Dupont, GCLM, ID (6 December 1905 – 28 June 1978) was a British-born Rhodesian politician who served in the internationally unrecognised positions of officer administrating the government (from 1965 until 1970) and president ...

, the longest-serving, was of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

stock. As with Rhodesia itself, the position lacked international recognition for the entire period. Rhodesia was internationally recognised as a British colony until 1980.

Origins

On 11 November 1965, Ian Smith's

Rhodesian Front The Rhodesian Front was a right-wing conservative political party in Southern Rhodesia, subsequently known as Rhodesia. It was the last ruling party of Southern Rhodesia prior to that country's unilateral declaration of independence, and the ...

Government proclaimed the

Unilateral Declaration of Independence A unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) is a formal process leading to the establishment of a new state by a subnational entity which declares itself independent and sovereign without a formal agreement with the state which it is secedin ...

(UDI) from the United Kingdom. On orders from the UK, the then-

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing colony, 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 reg ...

, Sir Humphrey Gibbs, immediately sacked Smith and his cabinet. This action was ignored by Smith, who stated that the UDI brought into immediate force a new constitution which dispensed with the position of Governor – and with it, his

reserve power In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch or part of the government. Unlike in ...

to sack them. The new constitution reconstituted Rhodesia as a

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...

. It recognised Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

as "

Queen of Rhodesia Queen of Rhodesia was the title asserted for Elizabeth II as Rhodesia's constitutional head of state following the country's Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom. However, the position only existed under the Rhodesian ...

," with a

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

as her representative in the country. In lieu of the appointment of a

, an "

Officer Administering the Government An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general. ...

" would exercise the functions of the governor-general. Smith had intended to name Deputy Prime Minister

as Governor-General. However, Queen Elizabeth II would not even consider Smith's "advice" to appoint Dupont as her viceregal representative. Instead, Whitehall insisted that Gibbs was the Queen's only legitimate representative, and hence the only lawful authority in what it still maintained was the Colony of Southern Rhodesia – a position backed by most of the international community.

Republic

For five years, Smith and his government continued to profess loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II and recognised her as Rhodesia's head of state. Indeed, the UDI announcement ended with the words "God Save The Queen." However, in 1969, Smith decided to sever constitutional links with Britain, by making the country a republic. At a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

that year, the mostly white electorate voted overwhelmingly in favour of a republic. Rhodesia was formally proclaimed a republic in 1970, and Dupont assumed the office of president. Smith's position as prime minister remained unchanged. A presidential flag was adopted, featuring a blue field with the coat of arms in the centre. Following the model of the

state president of South Africa The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...

, Rhodesian presidents had little ''de facto'' executive power, and mostly acted on the advice of the prime minister. Dupont resigned due to ill health in 1975. He was succeeded as president in 1976 by

John Wrathall John James Wrathall, GCLM, ID (28 August 1913 – 31 August 1978), was a Rhodesian politician. He was the last white President of Rhodesia (later holders of the post were only acting as such). He formerly worked as a chartered accountant. E ...

, who died in office in 1978. In 1979 there was an

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 ...

, which saw a black majority government for the first time, and the country was renamed

Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, and sometimes as Rhobabwe, was a short-lived sovereign state that existed from 1 June to 12 December 1979. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was p ...

Josiah Zion Gumede Josiah Zion Gumede, GCLM, MBE (19 September 1919 – 28 March 1989) was the first and only president of the self-proclaimed, and internationally unrecognised, state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia during 1979, before Rhodesia briefly reverted to British ...

was chosen as president. Like the UDI and the declaration of a republic, Zimbabwe Rhodesia was unrecognised internationally and in 1979, Britain resumed control of the rebel colony under the

Lancaster House Agreement The Lancaster House Agreement, signed on 21 December 1979, declared a ceasefire, ending the Rhodesian Bush War; and directly led to Rhodesia achieving internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe. It required the full resumption of di ...

. Britain appointed Lord Soames as governor until the country became independent within 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 C ...

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 ...

on 18 April 1980.

List of presidents of Rhodesia

;Parties ;Symbols

Notes

Timeline

References

External links

Humphrey Gibbs, 87, of Rhodesia And a Foe of White Rebels, Dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:President of Rhodesia

Presidents 1970 establishments in Rhodesia 1979 disestablishments in Rhodesia