Ian Smith

For other people named Ian Smith, see Ian Smith (disambiguation).

The Rt. Hon. Ian Smith GCLM ID
1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia
In office 11 November 1965 – 1 June 1979
Monarch	Elizabeth II (1965–1970)
President	Clifford Dupont (1970–1976) John Wrathall (1976–1978) Henry Everard (1978-1979)
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Abel Muzorewa
Constituency	Umzinganwe
8th Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia
In office 16 April 1964 – 11 November 1965
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Clifford Dupont
Preceded by	Winston Field
Succeeded by	None
Personal details
Born	(1919-04-08)April 8, 1919 Selukwe, Midlands, Southern Rhodesia
Died	November 20, 2007(2007-11-20) (aged 88) South Africa
Nationality	Rhodesian
Political party	Rhodesian Front
Spouse	Janet Watt (1948–1994)
Alma mater	Rhodes University

Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) served as the Prime Minister of the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 11 November 1965 and as the first Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 11 November 1965 to 1 June 1979 during white minority rule. Smith unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965. The country failed to gain international recognition and United Nations economic sanctions were instituted.

The party he led, the Rhodesian Front, won all general elections until the end of white rule in 1979, a period in which few blacks were qualified to vote. The Smith administration fought against black nationalists in the 1971-1979 Rhodesian Bush War. He negotiated an Internal Settlement in 1979 after fourteen years of maintaining white rule in the face of war, economic sanctions, and international pressure. The agreement led to biracial rule and a coalition government led by Prime Minister Abel Muzorewa of the UANC. The Lancaster House Agreement and the election of Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister of the newly renamed Zimbabwe in 1980 marked the beginning of majority rule. Smith remained a member of the Zimbabwe Parliament until 1987. Subsequently, he enjoyed a long and comfortable retirement in Zimbabwe before relocating to Cape Town, South Africa.

Family and early life

Smith was born in Selukwe, a small mining and farming town. He was the family's youngest child with two older sisters, Phyllis and Joan. He went to school in Gwelo and at Rhodes University in South Africa.

Smith's father was a Scottish butcher who had arrived in Rhodesia in 1898, where he became a cattle rancher. Smith said of his father:

He was one of the fairest men I have ever met and that is the way he brought me up. He always told me that we're entitled to our half of the country and the blacks are entitled to theirs.

— Ian Smith quoted by Time Magazine

Smith joined the Royal Rhodesian Air Force during World War II. After he had completed his flight training, he was seconded to the Royal Air Force in the rank of Pilot Officer. He served with distinction in the Royal Air Force at RAF Pembrey, Pembrey, Wales. On 4 October 1943 his plane crashed on take-off, burning Smith's face. He received plastic surgery and half of his face remained paralyzed. Once he recovered he returned to active service in Italy. German anti-aircraft fire shot down Smith's Spitfire during an attack on a railway facility. He parachuted safely from his aircraft, landing behind enemy lines. Italian partisan and French resistance groups gave him refuge. He reached Allied lines. After the war Smith returned and finished his schooling, receiving a degree. He bought a farm in Selukwe, later expanding it into a 21,500-acre (87 km²) estate.

Smith married Janet Watt in 1948 and had one child, Alec, whom he brought up with his wife's two children, Robert and Jean, from her earlier marriage to South African rugby player Dr. Piet Duvenage. Janet Smith died in 1994. He remained on close terms with his son Alec despite significant disagreement on political issues. Alec deserted from the Rhodesian army while serving as a conscript in the 1970s and went to Europe. There he married Elisabeth Knudsen, a Norwegian national, by whom he had three children: one son and two daughters. Alec died on 19 January 2006 of a heart attack at Heathrow Airport, London. He always supported majority rule in Rhodesia and South Africa.

His stepson Robert travelled to the UK in April 1970 and stayed briefly, but lived in Rhodesia for most of the 1970s. After a brief period of doctoral studies in the USA. in the early 1980s, he returned to Zimbabwe permanently with his family in 1985 and worked as an agricultural engineer.

Smith's step-daughter Jean married Rhodesian folk singer Clem Tholet in 1967. Tholet was famous for recordings such as Vagabond Gun and Rhodesians Never Die. Jean, by then living in Cape Town, was widowed in 2004 when Tholet died of a heart attack aged 56.

Political background

Smith became active in politics at the 1948 general election when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as a Liberal for Selukwe district. He was initially reluctant to stand due to his youth and the fact that he was establishing his farm. In 1953 his support for the federation of Southern Rhodesia with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland led him to join the Federal Party set up by Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins.

In the federal general election he was elected as Federal Party member for Midlands, and therefore stood down from his seat in the Southern Rhodesian legislature. From 1958 Smith served as Chief Whip for the UNFP in the Federal Assembly, but grew increasingly apart from the position of the United Federal Party and the new Prime Minister Sir Roy Welensky. In early 1962 he resigned the UFP whip and formed a breakaway party called the Rhodesia Reform Party. After a few months, this party merged with the Dominion Party to form the Rhodesian Front (RF).

Rhodesian Front

Smith was re-elected to Parliament as an RF member for Umzingwane in the 1962 general election, at which the RF won a slim majority and formed a government. He served as Minister of the Treasury under Prime Minister Winston Field. Field's failure to secure independence from Britain upon dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1963 left many dissatisfied with his leadership and in April 1964 Smith deposed him.

Smith was staunchly opposed to the British government's insistence (see NIBMAR) that Rhodesia introduce majority rule before independence. Smith at one point stated that there would be no plans to bring Rhodesia under "black majority rule" in his lifetime, later adding, "or [my] children's." Smith later maintained in his memoirs that he was referring to black rule as it was in other African countries such as Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria but a recording was played on the BBC World Service (on the day of his death) of Smith saying: "I don't believe in black majority rule ever, not in a thousand years".

Smith at the Bulawayo Farmers' Fair, Easter 1964.

White minority rule originated in property and education qualifications for voting that were in place when the British government introduced self-government in 1923. Such qualifications were unexceptional by the standards of the 1920s and, although slightly modified over the years, they ensured a situation up to 1979 in which whites had 95% of the votes in national elections while they were never more than 5% of the population.

Smith and other white settler politicians argued there was nothing fundamentally racist about the electoral system in Rhodesia. They stated that improvements in black education and wealth would, over time, ensure a gradual move to majority rule. However, critics argued that the whole political arrangement in Rhodesia was intended to entrench economic and political privilege for whites.

During the early 1960s a black nationalist movement emerged in Rhodesia. That movement consisted of two main parties, both of which were militant and Marxist in ideology; the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU, supported primarily by the Shona people, came to be led by Robert Mugabe. Joshua Nkomo led ZAPU, supported primarily by the Sindebele speaking minority. In his autobiography Smith says he opposed ZANU and ZAPU because of their Communist ideology.

UDI and its aftermath

During the early 1960s most of the British government's African colonies won independence. Rhodesia also sought independence, but the British government would only consider independence with majority rule. The Rhodesian cabinet issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on 11 November 1965 anyway, attracting widespread international condemnation and the first instance of economic sanctions in the history of the United Nations, led by Britain and the OAU. The Apartheid government of South Africa, while privately sympathetic and supportive of the Smith administration, did not grant recognition.

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Ian Smith defies the international community, 1975 (photo by W Higham)

The UN sanctions implemented restrictions on any form of trade or financial transaction with Rhodesia. They also made it difficult for Rhodesians to travel abroad. The Norwegian government angered Smith when it refused to allow him to attend the 1979 wedding in Norway of his son Alec. In the short term, Rhodesia was able to evade sanctions with the assistance of a few sympathetic governments and some 'sanction-busting' private companies. A number of white Rhodesians were uneasy about UDI. The business community was particularly concerned about the resultant economic dislocation and loss of markets. The Rhodesian Council of Churches became increasingly opposed to UDI on moral grounds.

In the three years after UDI, there were two rounds of negotiations between the Rhodesian and British governments. The issue was the terms on which UDI could be ended and the position of Rhodesia regularized within the international community. The central figures in both these negotiations were Smith and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

The first round of negotiations was held in Gibraltar in December 1966 on board HMS Tiger. The terms the British offered on this occasion were that Smith's government should resign, allowing the British governor to appoint a "broad-based" government with an RF majority, but with five non-RF members of whom two would be black. The existing 1961 constitution would be modified to accelerate the expansion of black representation leading to majority rule in the near term. This offer was dismissed by Smith, who viewed it as terms for surrender.

A second round of negotiations took place on board HMS Fearless in October 1968. The terms offered on HMS Tiger were moderated by dropping the need for an interim return to British rule. However, the requirement for the installation of a broad-based government and an accelerated move to majority rule remained. Smith dismissed this offer as well. Smith's perceived unconditional support from the South African government was critical to his decision not to agree to the deal.

In 1969 Smith unveiled the new republican constitution for Rhodesia. The architects of UDI offered "equal partnership between black and white" as an alternative to majority rule. Whites and blacks would vote in general elections on separate rolls and the number of assembly members elected by each roll would depend on the total income tax paid by each community. Initially, whites would have 50 assembly members and blacks 16. But it was planned that the number of black members would rise over time in line with growing contribution to the “fisc” until there were 50. At that point, equal partnership would have been achieved and a final settlement would have been arrived at. This was presented to the outside world as Smith's vision for the future of the country.

However, Smith made comments indicating that his commitment to equal partnership was less than wholehearted. One journalist heard him say, "With immigration and so forth, this thing may never come." White immigration in the late 1960s had pushed the white share of the population to its all time peak of 5.5% in 1970. Smith indicated that a continuation of this trend might fundamentally shift the demographics of the country.

The Conservatives won the 1970 British general election and the new British government reopened negotiations with Smith. In 1971 the British government offered the Smith administration even more generous terms to end UDI. In particular, the Rhodesian land apportionment which reserved 50% of the country's land for white ownership would be allowed to continue in perpetuity. British Foreign Secretary Alec Douglas-Home privately warned Smith that it would be unwise to do this. The electoral system would be modified to allow black representation in the assembly to grow in line with voter numbers rather than contribution to the fisc and there would be no equal representation cap. However, education and wealth qualifications in the electoral roll would keep black representation very much in a minority for an extended period. Smith stated that this settlement allowed that "racial discrimination may continue as long as it is justifiable and reasonable" and he accepted it.

The head of Rhodesia's Methodist Church called it a "constitutional rape of Africans by both the Rhodesian and British governments." The British withdrew the deal in 1972. A few months later Marxist insurgents attacked white-owned farms leading to the Bush War.

In 1974 Prime Minister of South Africa B.J. Vorster began pushing Smith to end white minority rule as part of Vorster's foreign policy goal of improving relations between South Africa and the rest of Africa. South African economic, diplomatic, and military support for the UDI regime had become a major obstacle to this.

In 1976 US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger formulated what came to be known as a six-step "Kissinger Plan" (or "Kissinger Initiative") with the concurrence of the British government and the participation of South Africa's Vorster. Kissinger flew to South Africa and met with Smith and Vorster in Pretoria. UK Prime Minister James Callaghan said the plan could end fighting in Rhodesia. Smith accepted the plan with reluctance, explaining,

"The proposals which were put to us do not represent what in our view would have been the best solution for the Rhodesian problem. Regretfully, however, we were not able to make our views prevail.... The American and British governments, together with major Western powers, have made up their minds as to the kind of solution they wish to see in Rhodesia, and they are determined to bring it about."

Throughout the 15 year period leading up to the independence of Zimbabwe, Ian Smith was given support in both the UK and US by various groups, including the Conservative Monday Club who organized pro-Rhodesia demonstrations outside number 10 Downing Street several times during the late 1970s, and provided Smith with a platform at several receptions and major dinners. The Club had a Rhodesia sub-committee chaired by Tory MP, Harold Soref. In December 1967 Barry Goldwater, Senator from Arizona and Republican candidate for the 1964 presidential election, praised Smith in an interview with Harvey Ward in Salisbury, saying, "We need more men like Ian Smith, I think, in the world today. We have too few leaders and I'd like to see him multiplied a little bit, and spread around."

However, groups from other positions on the Anglo-American political spectrum were opposed to the Smith regime. Peter Hain (the future Northern Ireland Secretary and Welsh Secretary in the British Government) was active, as a leading Young Liberal, in organising demonstrations and campaigns against Smith. US President Jimmy Carter and his Ambassador to the UN Andrew Young would become key figures in the ultimate demise of UDI.

Having conceded the principle of immediate majority rule in 1976, Smith initially appeared reluctant to actually take the steps necessary to implement it. Smith conducted endless discussions with the US, British and South African governments as well as conducting secret and open talks with almost all the black nationalist parties. At one stage, the British appointed a governor-designate of Rhodesia (Michael Carver) in anticipation of an end to UDI. Opportunities to settle with moderate black leaders and the international community came and went.

"Smith failed to take advantage of opportunities, and in so doing, he came to appear both intransigent and indecisive." – Brookings Institution study on conflict management

Smith's intention was to secure the position of the white community in a post-independence Rhodesia through implementing majority rule with some qualifications. The practical result of this delay was that the military balance in the Bush War began to tip decisively in the insurgents' favour. Heavily armed guerrilla fighters entered Rhodesia in large numbers from bases in Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. 80% of Rhodesian war casualties were incurred in the period January 1977 to December 1979.

End of the UDI

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Salisbury, November 1978. Janet and Ian Smith at the final official celebration in Rhodesia of the anniversary of UDI

Rhodesia's isolation intensified once Mozambique became independent of Portuguese rule in 1975, and when South Africa started to scale back its support. The measures required to evade UN sanctions meant that the Rhodesian economy as a whole had to buy at a premium and sell at a discount. There had been almost nil inward investment during UDI.

Eventually, Smith had to bow to the inevitable and concede a form of majority rule. However, he struggled to qualify the nature of majority rule. The "internal settlement" negotiated with some minor moderate black parties in 1978 left the white minority with an entrenched position. Whites were guaranteed nearly one-third of the seats in parliament, one quarter of the places in the cabinet and control of the police, army, civil service and judiciary.

In 1979 the first multi-racial parliamentary elections (but with separate black and white rolls) were held as part of this settlement. However, ZANU-PF and ZAPU did not participate because they opposed the internal settlement. Following the 1979 election, Rhodesia was re-named Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Bishop Abel Muzorewa of the United African National Council party became the country's first and only black Prime Minister in June 1979. Smith became minister without portfolio in the new government after failing in a bid to be made Minister of Defence.

War between the government and the insurgents continued. Sanctions continued and diplomatic recognition was not granted. The British Government persuaded all parties to come to Lancaster House under Lord Carrington in September 1979 to work out an agreement. A critical element in arriving at that agreement was the defection of one of the members of the RF delegation, much to Smith's disgust. A peculiar feature of both the internal and Lancaster House settlements was the retention of a significant number of parliamentary seats reserved for a white electorate. This reflected a wish among Rhodesian whites to maintain a distinct and separate status from the rest of the population. It was also at this time that Smith re introduced and coined the phrase "PERFIDIOUS ALBION" - Treacherous Britain, as a description of Britain's treacherous history and nature seen and described by the French as this as far back as 1700.

One thing Smith did achieve in the Lancaster House Agreement was an agreement that no form of compulsory land redistribution would take place for at least 10 years after independence, securing the immediate position of the white farming community. The Agreement gave unconditional immunity from prosecution to all those who had participated in UDI and the Bush War.

UDI ended and a British governor (Lord Soames) took over the running of Rhodesia on 12 December 1979. The Bush War ended and sanctions were lifted a few days later.

1980 election and independence

Elections were held again in 1980 under international supervision. Smith hoped to retain a measure of white control over the government after this election by forming a coalition between his RF MPs and those of Muzorewa's UANC and Nkomo's ZAPU. But Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) (led by Robert Mugabe) won the election outright.

Smith initially demanded that the election be declared null and void because of widespread intimidation of voters and candidates during the election campaign. However, international observers concluded that the election was fair, given the time and place in which it was conducted. It was widely considered that ZANU-PF won the election because it had no credible opponent among the majority Shona population. In his memoirs Smith expressed contempt for Abel Muzorewa.

The British Governor declared his intention to endorse the result of the election (with the final results due to be declared on 4 March 1980) and a date was set for the independence of the country as Zimbabwe. The situation was now delicately poised, with some whites planning a military coup (Operation Quartz) to prevent Robert Mugabe from taking power. At this point, Smith's son Alec (newly returned from political exile) approached Smith while Joram Kucherera (a senior civil servant) approached Mugabe in order to arrange a meeting to discuss the future of the country. On the night of 3 March 1980 Smith was driven to Mugabe's house by Kucherera. Smith and Mugabe spoke privately for two hours and immediately afterwards Smith met with other senior ZANU figures. The meetings were surprisingly cordial. Mugabe offered key Ministries in the new government to RF MPs and agreed to allow senior officials (such as Lieutenant-General Peter Walls, head of the army) to remain in post. As far as is known, no minutes of the Smith-Mugabe meeting were kept. Both parties have been guarded about what was said and agreed that night.

On 4 March Smith advised the white community to accept the verdict of the election and respond "pragmatically" to events. Specifically, he told the white community to stay in the country and co-operate with the incoming ZANU-PF government. Operation Quartz, scheduled for 4 March, was abruptly called off.

A few weeks later, the co-operation agreement resulted in the Rhodesian army (with white officers) acting to maintain government control of Bulawayo in the face of an attack by ZIPRA dissidents. Later in 1980, Smith was a member of a delegation making presentations in Europe to international financial institutions regarding investment opportunities in Zimbabwe. The former Rhodesian security forces acted throughout 1980 and 1981 to maintain stability in the country. Smith contributed to the orderly manner in which the country moved to independence.

Smith became official Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, as leader of the newly re-named Republican Front. But Smith insisted on keeping the RF as a whites only party. During the next five years, Smith's support among the white elite began to erode and 11 out of the 20 sitting white MPs defected to ZANU or became independents. In the 1985 election, Smith's RF managed to recapture 15 of the 20 reserved white parliamentary seats. As allowed by the independence constitution, Mugabe moved to abolish the reserved white seats.

Smith retired to his farm in Shurugwi, his political career of 39 years over. His RF party re-branded itself in 1986 as the multi-racial Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe (CAZ), which eventually merged into the Movement for Democratic Change.

Retirement

After his retirement from active politics, Smith became an outspoken critic of Mugabe's government. Smith's autobiography, The Great Betrayal, is as much a criticism of Mugabe's governance as it is a memoir. Smith is also the author of Bitter Harvest. Both books received mixed reviews. Long-term admirers of Smith had their view of him as a man of integrity confirmed. His critics saw in the books a stubborn refusal to acknowledge the need for any form of change. However, Smith's bitterness at his UDI government's isolation is a central theme.

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At Harare airport 2000, Ian Smith defies threats of arrest in order to return home

Unlike most of his contemporaries from the UDI era, such as P. K. van der Byl, Smith stayed in Zimbabwe and retired. His son Alec returned from Europe and became his business partner, taking over the running of the family farm. Police evicted activists who tried to occupy the Smith farm.

Smith made a number of black friends and contributed regularly to both local and foreign media reports on current affairs. Those contributions became increasingly critical of his successor Robert Mugabe. While out of the country in 2000, Smith described Mugabe as "mentally deranged." Mugabe responded by threatening to have Smith arrested and prosecuted for genocide should Smith ever return to Zimbabwe. Upon Smith's return, he was met by a mass of reporters waiting to witness him being arrested. Smith was greeted warmly by immigration officials at Harare airport and went home. He was neither arrested nor prosecuted.

In early 2005 Smith travelled to South Africa for medical treatment. He stayed on to live with his widowed stepdaughter Jean in Cape Town, South Africa, where there is a significant Rhodesian expatriate community, until he died on 20 November 2007 at the age of 88. The cause of death was unknown but he had been reported to be in ill health in a residential home.

References

• Smith, Ian Douglas: Bitter Harvest: The Great Betrayal and the Dreadful Aftermath, Blake Publishing, London, 2001, (ISBN 1-903402-05-0)

External links

• Obituary in The Times, 21 November 2007
• Rhodesia: Mzilikaze to Smith (Africa Institute Bulletin, vol. 15, 1977)
• 24 Sept. 1976, BBC reports that Smith accepts majority rule
• The Viscount disasters of 1978 and 1979

Audio and video

• Audio of Ian Smith's radio address announcing UDI
• "What a Time", Clem Tholet songs, Youtube (8 mins)
• Ian Smith - "A bit of a Rebel", 2005 interview, Youtube (10 mins)