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Revision as of 20:41, 8 January 2024 by Tomw99 (talk | contribs) (Undid revision 1194399485 by Samf4u (talk) Removed left-wing marxist bias in original article which did not reflect the true nature of the party. The party was neither white supremacist nor far-right.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Ruling party of Rhodesia (1965–1979)
| Rhodesian Front | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | RF |
| Leader | Ian Smith |
| Founded | 1 March 1962 (1962-03-01) |
| Dissolved | 6 June 1981 (1981-06-06) |
| Preceded by | Dominion Party Southern Rhodesia Liberal Party |
| Succeeded by | Republican Front |
| Headquarters | Salisbury, Rhodesia |
| Colours | Purple White |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Politics of Rhodesia |
|---|
.svg) |
Political history
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| Government |
Legislature
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| Elections |
| Political parties |
| Foreign relations |
| National symbols |
The Rhodesian Front (RF) was a conservative political party in Southern Rhodesia,subsequently known as Rhodesia. It was the last ruling party of Southern Rhodesia prior to the country's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), and the ruling party of Rhodesia from 1965 until 1979. Led first by Winston Field, and, from 1964, by Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Front was the successor to the Dominion Party, which was the main opposition party in Southern Rhodesia when the territory was a part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The RF was formed in March 1962 and carried the general election in Southern Rhodesia that December, and remained in power until 1979.
History and ideology
The RF had fifteen founding principles, which included the preservation of each racial group's right to maintain its own identity, the preservation of "proper standards" through a policy of advancement through merit. Historians have generally defined the party as conservative and wanting to maintain Rhodesian interests by staunchly opposing majority rule, which the RF argued (citing other post-colonial African nations as examples) would lead to a collapse in economic development, law and order, and the emergence of a communist regime in Rhodesia. In contrast to the ideology of the South African National Party, the RF allowed for democratic opposition and did not advocate social apartheid (under the RF, marriage, relationships and intermingling between whites and non-white persons was possible and legal, albeit uncommon). Black Rhodesians were allowed to vote for candidates on electoral rolls in parliamentary elections following the UDI. Ian Smith and the RF also claimed that they based their policies, ideas, and democratic principles on merit and "not on colour or nationalism." The party also claimed that a system of merit and separate economic advancement would ultimately result in an "equal partnership between black and white" as an alternative to majority rule. In 1977, the party had a schism in which the more hardline wing broke off to form the Rhodesian Action Party (RAP), which opposed Smith's proposals to negotiate a settlement with black nationalist leaders.
In the elections leading to the country's independence in 1980, as the Republic of Zimbabwe, the RF won all 20 parliamentary seats in the power-sharing agreement that it had forged. On 6 June 1981, the party changed its name to the Republican Front, and on 21 July 1984, it became the Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe (CAZ). Eleven of its 20 parliamentarians defected over the following four years, but the party again won 15 of the 20 parliamentary seats reserved for whites in the 1985 election. In October 1987, the ruling government of Robert Mugabe officially abolished all reserved seats for whites. When these were abolished many white MPs became independents or joined the ruling ZANU–PF party.
Electoral history
Legislative Assembly elections
| Year | Popular Vote | Percentage | Seats | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 38,282 | 54.9% | 35 / 65 | RF |
| 1965 | 28,175 | 78.4% | 50 / 65 | RF |
House of Assembly elections
| Year | Popular Vote | Percentage | Seats | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 39,066 | 76.8% | 50 / 66 | RF |
| 1974 | 55,597 | 77.0% | 50 / 66 | RF |
| 1977 | 57,348 | 85.4% | 50 / 66 | RF |
| 1979 | 11,613 | 82.0% | 28 / 100 | UANC |
| 1980 | 13,621 | 83.0% | 20 / 100 | ZANU |
See also
Further reading
- Rhodesians Never Die, Godwin, P. & Hancock, I., 1995. Baobab Books, Harare, Zimbabwe.
- Pollard, William C. A Career of Defiance: The Life of Ian Smith, Agusan River Publishing Co., 1992. Topeka, KS.
- McLaughlin, John . "Ian Smith and the Future of Zimbabwe," The National Review, October 30, 1981, pp. 2168–70.
- Facts on File, 1984 ed., p. 574.
References
- Lipschutz, Mark R.; Rasmussen, R. Kent (1989). University of California Press (ed.). Dictionary of African Historical Biography. p. 265.
- Hsu, Chia Yin; Luckett, Thomas M.; Vause, Erika (2015). The Cultural History of Money and Credit: A Global Perspective. Lexington Books. p. 142. ISBN 9781498505932.
- Selby thesis:p58 Archived 15 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- * Hall, Lee (27 May 1966). "Rhodesia's Face of Defiance". Life. p. 22. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
- Ian Smith Invites Blacks to Join His Party, The New York Times, July 23, 1984, p. A5.
- Zimbabwe whites lose special political status. End of reserved seats in Parliament brings one-party state closer, Christian Science Monitor, August 25, 1987
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- Defunct political parties in Zimbabwe
- Rhodesia
- Conservative parties in Zimbabwe
- Political parties in Rhodesia
- Pro-independence parties
- Anti-communist organizations
- Political parties established in 1962
- Political parties disestablished in 1981
- Right-wing parties
- 1962 establishments in Southern Rhodesia
- 1981 disestablishments in Zimbabwe