Mugabe founding president of united Zanu-PF

President Mugabe was born on 21 February 1924 at Kutama Mission in Zvimba area, Mashonaland West province, about 80km west of Harare, son of the late Gabriel and Mrs Bona Mugabe, nee Shoniwa.
He got married in April 1961 to the late Sarah Francesca Hayfron (1932-1992) and remarried in August 1996 to Grace Marufu. The couple has three children, one girl and two boys.
EDUCATION
BA Fort Hare University, South Africa, BA Administration, B.Ed (Unisa), BSc Economics, LLB, LLM and MSc Economics (University of London).

STATE AND GOVERNMENT CAREER
First Executive President of the Republic of Zimbabwe (December 1987 to date)
First black Prime Minister of Independent Zimbabwe (April 1980 to December 1987)

TEACHING CAREER.
Taught at various schools in Zimbabwe between 1942 and 1952. Lectured at Chalimbana Teachers’ Training College in Zambia (1955-58). Lectured on a four-year contract at St Mary’s Teacher Training College, Takoradi, Ghana (1958-60), terminated the contract at the behest of the National Democratic Party leadership and joined full-time politics.

HONORARY AWARDS
He has a number of honorary awards, including Hon LLB (Ahmadou Bello) Morehouse, University of Zimbabwe, Edingburg, St Augustine’s College, Massachusetts, Moscow, Michigan and Solusi. Hon P Litt (Africa University) Hon P Civil Laws (Mauritius), Hon DCom (Fort Harare) and Hon D Tech (Nust).

SOME OF HIS INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

Awarded the Order of Jamaica, September 1996,

Assumed chairmanship of the OAU, June 1997

Hosted the World Solar Summit, September 1996

Elected first chairman of Sadc organ on defence, politics and security co-operation, June 1996

Assumed chairman of the G-15 Group of Countries, November 1995

Awarded the Olympic Order of Gold for his eminent contribution to Olympic ideals, September 1995

Conferred chairmanship of the World Solar Commission, March 1995 – The commission seeks use of eco-friendly energy sources

Assumed chairmanship of the Frontline States, March 1992 and led the OAU ad-hoc committee on Angola

Hosted the 1991 Commonwealth Summit and assumed the chairman-ship of CHOGM for three years

Received the Jawaharlal Nehru Award, 1989

Awarded the Africa Prize for leadership for the sustainable end to hunger on 15th September 1988 by the US-based Hunger Project – used the $100 000 prize money to launch a national Agricultural Scholarship Fund

Hosted and elected chairman of NAM, September 1986.

POLITICS

The President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF December 1987 to date

Led the party to repeated electoral victories from March 1980, 1985, 1995, 2000, and 2005 parliamentary elections and in the 1990, 1996, 2002 and 2008 presidential elections.

Formed a government of national unity in 1980, drawing its membership from all major political parties to end a 15-year armed struggle

Pronounced the policy of national reconciliation after winning the first national and democratic elections in March 1980

Led the Zanu delegation to the Lancaster House Conference which ended the 15-year armed struggle, paving the way for the first all-race elections that led to majority rule on 18 April 1980

Led the Zanu delegation to the abortive independence talks at Geneva (Switzerland, 1978) and Malta (1976).

Elected President of Zanu in 1977 during the party congress in exile at Chimoio, Mozambique

Escaped from the then Rhodesia into Mozambique in 1975 to reactivate the armed struggle and command Zanla, the military wing of Zanu following the assassination in a car bomb in Lusaka, Zambia in 1974 of Herbert Chitepo, the leader of the external wing and chairman of the party’s supreme decision-making body, Dare ReChimurenga

Imprisoned between August 1964 and December 1974 for his political activism

Used his detention time to further his education, acquiring three degrees

Detained between December 1961 and March 1964.

Founder member and secretary general of Zanu

Acting secretary general and publicity secretary of Zapu until its banning in September 1962

Edited party newspaper, The People’s Voice

Co-founder member of Zapu, 10 days after the banning of the National Democratic Party in December 1961

Chaired the first congress of the NDP in October 1960 an was chosen secretary for information and publicity, edited the Democratic Voice the official NDP mouthpiece

Prematurely terminated his four-year contract in teaching in Ghana to return home in May 1960 where he threw his weight behind the nationalist movement’s struggle for independence and democracy. His education and experiences in Ghana in June 1958 where he came in contact with Ghanaian politics under the late founding President of that country, Kwame Nkrumah. Met Sarah Francesca Hayfron whom he married in 1961

Admitted to Fort Hare University where he came in contact with politics of decolonisation as expressed by the South African, African National Congress and other politically conscious students from other countries in the region and beyond