"Robert Mugabe." African biography. Gale, 1999. World History in Context. Network. April 6, 2014. "Zimbabwe." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations. Ed. Timothy L. Gall and Derek M. Gleason. 13th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2012. World History in Context. Network. April 7, 2014. “Robert Mugabe Becomes First Prime Minister of Zimbabwe: April 18, 1980.” Global Events: Milestone events throughout history. Ed. Jennifer Stock. vol. 1: Africa. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2013. World History in Context. Network. 7 April 2014.1. Robert Mugabe - president of Zimbabwe, leads the nationalist movement. nationalist leader for 20 years, political prisoner for 10 years and leader of the military wing of his party for 5 years ii. first black to be elected head of state iii. presided over the transition from a nation with a white minority government to one with a black majority government iv. started as a socialist state→ then loosened controls on the economyv. authoritarian leader, keeps power to himself and often makes unilateral decisions without consulting Parliament or his cabinet2. Activisms. Reform policies in Rhodesia were divided ii. 1955 Mugabe's childhood friend James Chikerema founded the African National Congress of Southern Rhodesia→ with the aim of removing whites from power iii. In front was Joshua Nkomo→ who shared power with whites and was involved in negotiations with the white minority government for greater rights for blacks iv. Mugabe was initially not very interested in the two nerev movements. After earning his degree, he taught in several schools→he changed his mind about the political struggle in his homeland there. Mugabe taught in Ghana in 1951 (Ghana was in transition from a British colony to an independent state) or experienced being an African...... middle of paper ......18, 1980 ii. Problems with Independence o At independence, the new government was faced with the task of uniting a divided country o The war years meant that whites were divided among themselves→ suspicion between whites and blacks was high→ blacks were divided along tribal lines o Mugabe addressed the nation's needs for national reconciliation o Realizing that the removal of all white structures would bring economic disaster to the new nation, he did not establish a socialist government in Zimbabwe, although he himself was a socialist o Mugabe gained a notable degree of support from the white community as their fears of retaliation and nationalization (government takeover of businesses) eased o The three armies – Rhodesian, ZANU and ZAPU – were successfully integrated , although divisions between the two main political groups ZANU and ZAPU took almost 10 years to resolve