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Politics of Rhodesia
Political history — Overview 1890–1923  BSA Company rule 1923–1980  Southern Rhodesia 1953–1963  Rhodesia–Nyasaland Federation 1965–1979  Rhodesia under UDI  1979  Zimbabwe Rhodesia (under UDI)
Government Governor / Queen / President Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister Cabinet
Legislature 1899–1923  Legislative Council 1924–1970  Legislative Assembly 1970–1979  Parliament Leader of the Opposition
Elections General 1924 1928 1933 1934 1939 1946 1948 1954 1958 1962 1965 1970 1974 1977 1979 1980 Legislative Council 1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 Referendums 1922 1934 1953 1961 1964 1969 1979
Political parties African National Congress Communist Party Labour Party Liberal Party Rhodesia Party Rhodesian Action Party Rhodesian Front United African National Council United Federal Party Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU)
Foreign relations Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) Ministry of External Affairs Mission in Lisbon Centre in Sydney Passport
National symbols Flag (other flags) Anthem
Other countries
v t e

The Rhodesian Front (RF) was a political party in Southern Rhodesia, later known simply as Rhodesia, now called Zimbabwe, when the country was under white minority rule. Led first by Winston Field, and, from 1964, by Ian Douglas Smith, the Rhodesian Front was the successor to the Dominion Party, which was the main opposition party in Southern Rhodesia during the Federation period. The RF was formed in 1962 by whites opposed to any immediate moves to black majority rule. In successive elections (in which 50 of the 66 parliamentary seats were reserved for whites only) between 1964 and 1979, the RF was returned to office, with a large majority, with Smith as Prime Minister.

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,
• The maintenance of the Land Apportionment Act, which formalised the racial imbalance in the ownership and distribution of land,
• Opposition to compulsory racial integration,
• Job protection for white workers, and
• Maintenance of the government's right to provide separate amenities for different races.

(Godwin & Hancock, 1995. p. 57.)

Following the elections leading to the country's independence in 1980, as the Republic of Zimbabwe, the RF won all 20 parliamentary seats reserved for whites. In 1981, the party changed its name to the Republican Front. Eleven of its twenty parliamentarians defected over the following four years, but the party again won 15 of the 20 parliamentary seats reserved for whites in 1985. When these were abolished in 1987, many white MPs became independents or joined the ruling ZANU party. In 1986, the RF changed its name to the Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe (CAZ), and opened its membership to Zimbabweans of all races, although it now has little popular support.

References

Rhodesians Never Die, Godwin, P. & Hancock, I., 1995. Baobab Books, Harare, Zimbabwe.

• Political parties in Zimbabwe
• Rhodesia