| Post: | Prime Minister |
| Body: | Rhodesia |
| Flag: | Flag of the Prime Minister of Rhodesia (1970–1979).svg |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the prime minister of Rhodesia (1970–1979) |
| Style: | The Right Honourable |
| Member Of: | Cabinet of Rhodesia (1965–1979) |
| Residence: | Independence House, Salisbury (now Harare) |
| Formation: | 1 October 1923 |
| First: | Charles Coghlan |
| Last: | Ian Smith |
| Abolished: | 1 June 1979 |
| Superseded By: | Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia |
| Deputy: | Deputy Prime Minister of Rhodesia |
The prime minister of Rhodesia (Southern Rhodesia before 1964) was the head of government of Rhodesia. Rhodesia, which had become a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom in 1923, unilaterally declared independence on 11 November 1965, and was thereafter an unrecognized state until 1979. In December 1979, the country came under temporary British control, and in April 1980 the country gained recognized independence as Zimbabwe.
Rhodesia's political system was modelled on the Westminster system, and the role of the prime minister was similar to that of countries with similar constitutional histories – for example, Australia and Canada.
See main article: Political history of Zimbabwe. The British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia—simply Rhodesia from October 1964—was created on 1 October 1923, from land previously governed by the British South Africa Company. The British government annexed the land, then immediately sold it to the newly formed responsible government of Southern Rhodesia for £2 million.
From 1953 to 1963, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland—equivalent to today's Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, respectively—were joined in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation. Godfrey Huggins served as Federal Prime Minister from 1953 to 1956, then Roy Welensky held the post until the end of Federation on 31 December 1963. When Northern Rhodesia gained independence as Zambia on 24 October 1964, Southern Rhodesia began to refer to itself simply as "Rhodesia".
Prime Minister Ian Smith's government issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1965, and he remained prime minister when the country was declared a republic in 1970. Under the Internal Settlement in 1979, after a long period of conflict, the country became known as Zimbabwe Rhodesia, with Abel Muzorewa as its first black prime minister.[1]
None of these acts were recognised internationally, and under the Lancaster House Agreement the country's government agreed to revert to colonial status in 1979[2] to facilitate the introduction of majority rule and the creation of the independent state of Zimbabwe in 1980.
The office of Prime Minister of Zimbabwe was abolished in 1987, when Robert Mugabe became executive president. However, in 2009, it was restored through political negotiations, resulting in Morgan Tsvangirai becoming the first prime minister of the country in over 21 years.
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Elected | Political party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | Charles Coghlan | 1 October 1923 | 28 August 1927 | 1924 | Rhodesia Party | ||
| 2 | Howard Moffat | 2 September 1927 | 5 July 1933 | — 1928 | Rhodesia Party | ||
| 3 | George Mitchell | 5 July 1933 | 12 September 1933 | — | Rhodesia Party | ||
| Godfrey Huggins | 12 September 1933 | 7 September 1953 | 1933 1934 1939 1946 1948 | Reform Party United Party | |||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | Garfield Todd | 7 September 1953 | 17 February 1958 | — 1954 | United Rhodesia Party | ||
| 6 | Edgar Whitehead | 17 February 1958 | 17 December 1962 | — 1958 | United Federal Party | ||
| 7 | Winston Field | 17 December 1962 | 13 April 1964 | 1962 | Rhodesian Front | ||
| 8 | Ian Smith | 13 April 1964 | 1 June 1979 | — 1965 1970 1974 1977 | Rhodesian Front | ||