Biography of Ian Douglas Smith

Name: Ian Douglas Smith
Birth Date: April 8, 1919
Death Date: N/A
Place of Birth: Selukwe, Rhodesia
Nationality: Zimbabwean
Gender: Male
Occupations: prime minister

Ian Douglas Smith

Ian Douglas Smith (born 1919) was the last white prime minister of Rhodesia before it became the independent nation of Zimbabwe. In an effort to resist African majority rule, he led his extremist white government in a unilateral break with Great Britain and declared Rhodesia a republic, the first such anti-British revolt since the American colonies declared their independence in 1776.Ian Smith was born on April 8, 1919, in Selukwe, Southern Rhodesia. He attended Selukwe High School; an average student, he was outstanding in sports. His studies at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, were interrupted by World War II. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1941, and when his plane crashed in North Africa, Smith received severe injuries in his leg and face. Plastic surgeons literally remade the right side of his face, leaving him with a dour expression which observers later said was an asset in political negotiations. He soon flew …showed first 150 words…

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…showed last 150 words…the dictatorial nature of the Mugabe regime and its resistance to democratic reforms. Since leaving politics, Smith has lived on his farm in Zimbabwe Further Reading Ian Douglas Smith, The Great Betrayal: The Memoirs of Ian Douglas Smith, Blake Publishing, 1997 [reviewed in Publishers Weekly, May 26, 1997, and The Economist, April 19, 1997]; Peter Joyce, Anatomy of a Rebel: Smith of Rhodesia, Graham Publishing, 1974; Philippa Berlyn, The Quiet Man: A Biography of the Hon. Ian Douglas Smith, I.D., Prime Minister of Rhodesia, M.O. Collins, 1978; Matthew White, Smith of Rhodesia, Printpak, 1978. Sketches: Political Leaders of Contemporary Africa South of the Sahara: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood, 1992; An African Biographical Dictionary, ABC-CLIO, 1994; Dictionary of African Historical Biography, U. of Cal. Press, 1986. Useful background works include Franklin Parker, African Development and Education in Southern Rhodesia (1960); Lewis H. Gann and Peter Duignan, White Settlers in Tropical Africa (1962); and P. E. N. Tindall, A History of Central Africa (1968).

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