Last Day of Federation 31 December 1963 During 1960, many French African colonies had become independent. Belgium more hastily vacated its colony and thousands of European refugees fled the Belgian Congo from the brutalities of the civil war and into Southern Rhodesia. During the Congolese crisis, Africans increasingly viewed the Rhodesia & Nyasaland Prime Minister,…
Last Day of Rhodesia 31 May 1979 On 31 May 1979, Ian Smith left the stage as Prime Minister on the last day of white rule in Rhodesia. His legacy was a state unrecognised by the international community, subjected to trade boycotts, and a country ravaged by civil war. On his last day in office,…
Opening of Geneva Conference on Rhodesia 28 October – 14 December 1976 The Geneva Conference took place in Geneva, Switzerland during the Rhodesian Bush War. Held under British mediation, its participants were the unrecognised government of Rhodesia, led by Ian Smith, and a number of rival Rhodesian black nationalist parties: the African National Council, led by…
Zimbabwe Rhodesia Election 17-21 April 1979 The Zimbabwe-Rhodesia general election was held in April 1979 under the internal settlement negotiated by the Rhodesian Front government of Ian Smith intended to provide a peaceful transition to majority rule on terms not harmful to Rhodesians of European descent. The internal settlement was not approved internationally but the…
Smith Accepts Peace Proposal 24 September 1976 The United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, announced a formal interest in the Rhodesian situation in February 1976, and spent the rest of the year holding discussions with the British, South African and Frontline governments to produce a mutually satisfactory proposal. The plan that Kissinger eventually presented would…
Settlement 24 November 1971 In November 1971, UK Foreign Secretary, Alec Douglas-Home, renewed contacts with Salisbury and announced a proposed agreement recognising Rhodesia’s 1969 constitution as the legal frame of government, while agreeing that gradual legislative representation was an acceptable formula for unhindered advance to majority rule. The new settlement, if approved, would have also…
Victoria Falls Bridge Constitutional Conference 25 August 1975 The Victoria Falls Conference took place aboard a South African Railways train halfway across the Victoria Falls Bridge on the border between the unrecognised state of Rhodesia and Zambia. It was the culmination of the “détente” policy introduced and championed by B. J. Vorster, the Prime Minister of…
Internal Settlement 3 March 1978 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 Chirau. After almost 15 years of the Rhodesian Bush War, and under pressure from…
Independence Election 27-29 February 1980 General elections were held in Rhodesia in February 1980 to elect a government which would govern the country after it was granted independence as Zimbabwe, in accordance with the conclusions of the Lancaster House Agreement. The election was won by the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and…
