Ian Smith

The Right Honourable Ian Smith GCLM ID
Smith in 1975
8th Prime Minister of Rhodesia[n 1]
In office 13 April 1964 – 1 June 1979[n 2]
Monarchs	Elizabeth II (until 1970)[n 3]
President	Clifford Dupont (1970–1975) John Wrathall (1976–1978)[n 4]
Deputy	Clifford Dupont John Wrathall David Smith
Preceded by	Winston Field
Succeeded by	Abel Muzorewa (as PM of Zimbabwe Rhodesia)
Ministerial offices Deputy Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia In office 17 December 1962 – 13 April 1964 Prime Minister Winston Field Preceded by New title Succeeded by Clifford Dupont Minister of the Treasury In office 17 December 1962 – 13 April 1964 Prime Minister Winston Field Preceded by Geoffrey Ellman Brown Succeeded by John Wrathall Minister of Posts In office 29 November 1963 – 13 April 1964 Prime Minister Winston Field Preceded by New title Succeeded by John Wrathall Minister of External Affairs and Defence In office 13 April 1964 – 28 August 1964 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Winston Field Succeeded by Clifford Dupont (External Affairs) Minister of Defence In office 28 August 1964 – 4 September 1964 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Himself Succeeded by Clifford Dupont Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence In office 11 November 1965 – 1966 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Clifford Dupont Succeeded by The Duke of Montrose Minister without Portfolio In office 1 June 1979 – 12 December 1979 Prime Minister Abel Muzorewa Preceded by Phillip van Heerden Succeeded by Zimbabwe Rhodesia dissolved
Constituencies Member of the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly for Selukwe In office 15 September 1948 – 11 December 1953 Preceded by George Baden-Powell Tunmer Succeeded by George Baden-Powell Tunmer Member of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federal Assembly for Midlands In office 15 December 1953 – 12 November 1958 Preceded by New constituency Member of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federal Assembly for Gwanda In office 12 November 1958 – 27 April 1962 Member of the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly for Umzingwane In office 14 December 1962 – 10 April 1970 Preceded by New constituency Succeeded by Parliament dissolved Member of the House of Assembly of Rhodesia for Umzingwane In office 10 April 1970 – 10 April 1979 Preceded by New constituency Succeeded by Parliament dissolved Member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe Rhodesia for Southern Constituency In office 10 April 1979 – 12 December 1979 Preceded by New constituency Succeeded by Parliament dissolved Member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for Southern Constituency In office 18 April 1980 – 1 July 1985 Preceded by New constituency Succeeded by David Clive Mitchell Member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for Bulawayo Central In office 1 July 1985 – September 1987 Preceded by Patrick Francis Shields Succeeded by White roll abolished
Personal details
Born	Ian Douglas Smith (1919-04-08)8 April 1919 Selukwe, Rhodesia[n 5]
Died	20 November 2007(2007-11-20) (aged 88) Cape Town, South Africa
Resting place	Near Shurugwi, Zimbabwe (ashes scattered)[n 5]
Political party	Liberal (1948–1953) United Federal (1953–1961) Rhodesian Front and successors (1962–1987)
Spouse	Janet Duvenage Smith (née Watt) ​ ​ (m. 1948; died 1994)​
Children	3, including Alec
Alma mater	Rhodes University (BComm)
Military service
Allegiance	Southern Rhodesia United Kingdom
Branch/service	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1941–1945
Rank	Flight Lieutenant
Battles/wars	Second World War
Awards

This article is part of a series about Ian Smith
RF 1965 1970 1974 1977 Prime Minister of Rhodesia 1964-1979 Government Independence Independence Signatories 1964 independence referendum Rhodesia Rhodesian Bush War 1969 constitutional referendum Alcora Exercise Victoria Falls Conference (1975) Geneva Conference (1976) Internal Settlement Lancaster House Battle Career Military service of Ian Smith Retirement and final years Retirement and final years The Great Betrayal Family Janet Alec
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Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID (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 1979.^{[n 2]} He was the country's first leader to be born and raised in Rhodesia, and led the predominantly white government that unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom in November 1965 in opposition to the UK's demands for the implementation of majority rule as a condition for independence. His 15 years in power were defined by the country's international isolation and involvement in the Rhodesian Bush War, which pitted Rhodesia's armed forces against the Soviet- and Chinese-funded military wings of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU).

Smith was born to British immigrants in the small town of Selukwe in the Southern Rhodesian Midlands, four years before the colony became self-governing in 1923. During the Second World War, he served as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot. A crash in Egypt caused debilitating facial and bodily wounds that remained conspicuous for the rest of his life. Following recovery, he served in Europe, where he was shot down and subsequently fought alongside Italian partisans. After the war, he established a farm in his hometown in 1948 and became a Member of Parliament for Selukwe that same year. Originally a member of the Liberal Party, he defected to the United Federal Party in 1953, and served as Chief Whip from 1958 onwards. He left that party in 1961 in protest over the territory's new constitution, and went on to co-found the Rhodesian Front the following year.

Smith became Deputy Prime Minister following the Front's December 1962 election victory, and he stepped up to the premiership after Field resigned in April 1964, two months before the first events that led to the Bush War took place. After repeated talks with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson broke down, Smith and his Cabinet unilaterally declared independence on 11 November 1965 in an effort to delay majority rule; shortly afterwards, the first phase of the war began in earnest. After further negotiations with the UK failed, Rhodesia cut all remaining British ties and reconstituted itself as a republic in 1970. Smith led the Front to four election victories over the course of his premiership; despite sporadic negotiations with moderate leader Abel Muzorawa over the course of the war, his support came exclusively from the white minority, with the black majority being widely disenfranchised under the country's electoral system.

The country initially endured United Nations sanctions and international isolation with the assistance of South Africa and, until 1974, the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique. Following 15 years of protracted fighting, with economic sanctions, international pressure and the decline in South African support taking their toll, Smith conceded to the implementation of majority rule and signed the Internal Settlement in 1978 with moderate leaders, excluding ZANU and ZAPU; the country was renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia the following year. The new order, however, failed to gain international recognition, and the war continued. After being succeeded as Prime Minister by Muzorawa, Smith took part in the trilateral peace negotiations at Lancaster House, which led to fully free elections and the recognition of an independent Zimbabwe.

Following the election, Smith served as Leader of the Opposition for seven years and marked himself as a strident critic of Robert Mugabe's government. His criticisms persisted after his 1987 retirement: He dedicated much of his 1997 memoir, The Great Betrayal, to condemning Mugabe, UK politicians, and defending his premiership. In 2005, Smith moved to South Africa for medical treatment, where he died two years later at the age of 88.

As the dominant political figure and public face of Rhodesia in its final decades, Smith remains a divisive and controversial political figure to this day. By his supporters, he has been hailed as "a political visionary ... who understood the uncomfortable truths of Africa",^[5] defending his rule as one of stability and a stalwart against communism.^[6] His critics, in turn, have condemned him as "an unrepentant racist ... who brought untold suffering to millions of Zimbabweans"^[5] as the leader of a white supremacist government responsible for disempowering and discriminating against the black majority.^[5]

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