- Smith, Ian Douglas
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▪ 2008Rhodesian politicianborn April 8, 1919, Selukwe, Rhodesia [now Shurugwi, Zimb.]died Nov. 20, 2007, Cape Town, S.Af.was the first native-born prime minister of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia and an ardent advocate of white rule; in 1965 he declared Rhodesia's independence, but in the late 1970s he was compelled to oversee the country's transition to the black majority-ruled Zimbabwe. Smith interrupted his studies at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, S.Af., to join (1939) the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot in World War II. After completing his work at the university, Smith was elected (1948) to the Southern Rhodesian Assembly. He joined the governing Federal Party in 1953, and by 1958 he had become chief government whip in Parliament. When the Federalists supported greater parliamentary representation for black Africans, Smith founded (1961) the right-wing Rhodesian Front. Promising independence from the U.K. with a white minority government, his party unexpectedly won the 1962 election. In April 1964 Smith became prime minister of Southern Rhodesia, and on Nov. 11, 1965, he unilaterally declared Rhodesia's independence. The UN Security Council applied economic sanctions against Rhodesia, which then severed all ties with the Commonwealth of Nations. The country's economy suffered as Smith's government fought the steady increase in black guerrilla activity, accompanied by a flow of white emigration. In 1977 Smith finally began to negotiate on a transfer of power to the black majority. He remained prime minister until May 1979 and then served (May–November 1979) in the first black majority government. He remained in Zimbabwe's Parliament until 1987, and in 1992 he briefly led the United Front, a multiracial coalition of parties opposed to Pres. Robert Mugabe's policies. Smith's memoirs were published in 1997.
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Universalium. 2010.
