This
is the full profile of the controversial and long-serving President of
Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe who has expressed reluctance about vacating the
seat of power in spite of his old age.
Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe is a Zimbabwean politician and the current president
of the country. This biography provides detailed information about his
childhood, life, political career and timeline.
ALSO KNOWN AS: Robert Gabriel Mugabe
FAMOUS AS: Former PM & Current President of Zimbabwe
NATIONALITY: Zimbabwean
RELIGION: Roman Catholicism
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: National Democratic Party
(1960–1961), Zimbabwe African People’s Union (1961–1963), Zimbabwe
African National Union (1963–1987), Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front (1987–present).
BORN ON: 21 February 1924 AD
BIRTHDAY: 21st February
AGE: 92 Years
SUN SIGN: Pisces
BORN IN: Harare
FATHER: Gabriel Matibili
MOTHER: Bona
SIBLINGS: Michael, Donato
SPOUSES/PARTNERS: Grace Mugabe (m. 1996), Sally Hayfron (m. 1987–1992)
CHILDREN: Tinashé, Bona Mugabe, Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, Robert Peter Mugabe, Michael Nhamodzenyika Mugabe
EDUCATION: University of Oxford, University of Fort Hare, University of London, University of South Africa
NET WORTH: $10 Million
AWARDS: 1994 – Knight Grand Cross in the Order of
the Bath for significant contributions, “Robert Mugabe” by Mangwanani –
Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Robert Mugabe is a former revolutionary and Zimbabwean politician and is
best known for his struggles against the British, when Zimbabwe was
known as Rhodesia. From a very young age, he was greatly inspired by
Marxist and nationalist views and soon, became the publicity secretary
of the National Democratic Party or the ‘NDP’.
Once he established a strong political foothold, he founded the
socialist-nationalist movement, ‘ZANU’ which resolved to drive the
British out of their homeland. Despite being detained by Rhodesian
authorities for his radical activities, Mugabe remained calm and took an
oath to deliver his people from the talons of foreign brutality. Soon
after their independence, Mugabe became the prime minister and
thereafter the president of the country – a post that he serves till
today. During his tenure as president, he managed to unite the Zimbabwe
African People’s Union (ZAPU) with the Zimbabwe African National Union
(ZANU), challenging all those who threatened to colonize independent
Zimbabwe.
Childhood & Early Life
Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924 as the third of the
six children to Gabriel Matibili and Bona, both of whom were Roman
Catholic. His elder brothers died when he was very young and in 1934,
his father deserted the family.
He studied in all-exclusive Jesuit, Roman Catholic schools and also
attended the Kutama College, where he is believed to have led a solitary
life and preferred to keep company with his books.
He was meant to become a teacher but then decided to study at Fort Hare
in South Africa, from where he graduated in 1951. He then went on to
study at Salisbury, Gwelo, Tanzania and subsequently earned six more
degrees in addition to his Bachelor of Arts degree, which he obtained
from the University of Fort Hare.
After graduation, he became a lecturer at Chalimbana Teacher
Training College in Northern Rhodesia between the years 1955 to 1958. It
was around this time he was highly influenced by Marxist works and by
the-then Prime Minister of Ghana, Kwame Nikrumah.
Career
In 1960, he joined the National Democratic Party and after it was banned
in September, he formed the group; Zimbabwe African Peoples Union
(ZAPU), which was led by Joshua Nkomo.
In 1963, he left ZAPU and formed the Zimbabwe African National Union
(ZANU), established on the basis of Africanist philosophies of the Pan
Africanist Congress in South Africa.
Both ZANU and ZAPU were officially banned on August 26, 1964 after a
long spell of political unrest. It was during this time that Mugabe was
arrested and imprisoned indeterminately.
In 1974, while still in confinement, he was elected, under the influence
of Edgar Tekere, to take over ZANU. The same year, he was released from
prison along with other separatist leaders, so that he could go to a
conference in Lusaka, Zambia.
He fled back to the border of Southern Rhodesia and accumulated a troop
of Rhodesian rebel trainees. The struggle continued through the 1970s
and the economy of Zimbabwe was in a state of pandemonium.
In 1979, the British colonies agreed to observe the switch to black
majority rule and the UN raised sanctions. The subsequent year,
Southern Rhodesia gained independence from the British and became the
independent Republic of Zimbabwe.
On March 4, 1980, ZANU won 57 out of 80 Common Roll Seats and Mugabe was
elected to lead the first government as prime minister. After his
election, he attempted to build Zimbabwe on the foundation of an edgy
union with his ZAPU rivals.
In 1981, a war broke out between ZANU and ZAPU. Four years later, Mugabe was re-elected and the fight persisted.
After the murder of two ministers from the groups in 1987, Mugabe and
Nkomo decided to merge their unions, for the betterment and quick
recovery of the Zimbabwe’s economy.
The position of prime minister was obliterated and Mugabe assumed the
new office of the executive President of Zimbabwe in 1987. He chose
Nkomo to become one of the senior ministers. Two years later, he
implemented a five-year plan, which greatly benefited the economy.
In 1996, political unrest began to surface again and his followers, who
deemed Mugabe as their hero, began to resent their decision, because
they did not support many of his political strategies.
He passed a revision in 2000, wherein the amendment stated that Britain
would have to pay compensations for seizing land from the blacks and if
the British failed to do so, Mugabe would in turn, seize theirs.
In 2002, he won the presidential elections at a time when the economy of
Zimbabwe was in near ruins with widespread unemployment, famine and
AIDS and fought to keep his office through brute force. This led him to
win the parliamentary elections also, three years later.
He lost the presidential elections to Morgan Tsvangirai in 2008, but
refused to let go of his office and demanded a recount of the votes. In
order to gain maximum number of votes, he also went as far as violently
attacking or killing members of the opposition party. This sudden
outburst by Mugabe and his followers, led to another deadly outbreak,
resulting in bloodshed and loss of many lives.
After lots of bloodshed, Tsvangirai and Mugabe came to a mutual
agreement that they both would share the power. In 2010, he selected
provisional governors for Zimbabwe without consulting Tsvangirai, which
proved that he still wanted to have total autocratic control.
The next year, he announced his bid for the 2012 presidential elections, which was for an indefinite period, postponed to 2013.
He displayed his interest to challenge Tsvangirai once again in the
elections and in July 2013, when he was asked about his plans to run for
the presidential post in future, he mentioned that he would like to
rule Zimbabwe till he hit a ‘century’.
Zimbabwe’s election commission declared Mugabe the president in August 2013 after winning a total of 61 per cent of the vote.
Major Works
When he was elected as the President of Zimbabwe, he decided to
implement a five-year plan, starting from 1989. In the course of this
five-year plan, he loosened price limits for farmers, allowing them to
set their own prices and he also built a number of clinics and schools
for the people. By the end of the five year period, the economy had seen
drastic positive change in terms of the manufacturing, mining and
farming industries.
Awards & Achievements
He holds a number of degrees and doctorates from international
universities, all of which were presented to him through the 1980s.
He was elected as a UN ‘Leader of Tourism’.
Personal Life & Legacy
He tied the knot with Sally Hayfron in April 1961. The couple was
blessed with a son who died at the age of three after suffering from
cerebral malaria.
His wife died of a kidney problem in 1992. At the time of her death,
Mugabe was already in a parallel relationship with his former secretary,
Grace Marufu, who was married to someone else and was 41 years younger
to Mugabe.
He married Grace Marufu on 17 August 1996. He already had two
children with Grace when he married her. She initially became pregnant
when he was still married to his first wife, Sally. His wife is
sometimes mockingly called, ‘Gucci Grace’ for her ostentatious ways and
lifestyle.
The film ‘The Interpreter’ features a deleterious portrayal of a
fictional African ruler, which in many ways fits Mugabe’s character in
real life. His government later described the film as a ‘CIA-campaign
against Robert Mugabe’.
Trivia
While this famous personality from Zimbabwe was still in prison, he
received three honorary degrees; two Law degrees and a Master of Science
degree.
This first prime minister of independent Zimbabwe and the then President
won a first prize jackpot of Z$100,000, in 2000. The lottery was
accessible for all those clients who had more than Z$ 5,000 in the
ZimBank accounts.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
