Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID (born 8 April, 1919) was the Premier of the British Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia from 13 April, 1964 to 11 November, 1965, and Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 11 November, 1965 to 1 June, 1979, when Rhodesia was ruled by its white minority. Smith is remembered for signing the colony's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom.

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

Smith was staunchly opposed to Britain's insistence (see NIBMAR) that the government of Rhodesia be transferred to the black majority control as an essential prerequisite for independence. Smith, at one point, stated that there would be no plans to bring Rhodesia under black majority rule in his lifetime, and he later added, "or his children's" (though Smith maintained in his memoirs that he was referring to Majority Rule as it was in other African countries such as Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria).



The origin of white minority rule in Rhodesia was property and education qualifications in the voters' roll at the time self-government was introduced 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 that 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, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU was a radical party that came to be led by Robert Mugabe. ZAPU was an ethnic party of the country's Sindebele speaking minority, led by Joshua Nkomo. The nationalist parties pressed for majority rule.

During the early 1960s most of Britain's African colonies were granted independence. Rhodesia also sought independence, but the British government would not agree to this unless and until a black majority government was installed. The alternative to independence was an indefinite continuation of the status-quo.

The Rhodesian cabinet issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on 11 November, 1965. UDI attracted widespread international condemnation including the first economic sanctions in the history of the United Nations, led by Britain and the OAU, and even the European-dominated government in South Africa, although sympathetic and privately supportive, avoided sharing in the condemnation of Rhodesia and did not officially recognise the new state.



The UN sanctions involved severe restrictions on any form of trade or financial transaction with Rhodesia. They also made it difficult for Rhodesians to travel abroad. Smith himself was most indignant when the Norwegian government 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. In the period immediately after UDI, Smith met British Prime Minister Harold Wilson to discuss terms for its cessation.
Two meetings took place, both on British warships (HMS ''Tiger'' and HMS ''Fearless'') in Gibraltar.

Smith was offered a continuation of white minority rule for a fixed period of time and the indefinite continuation of the economic privileges of the white community. The critical stalling point was that Smith would not concede an end to his government in order to return to legality. It was proposed that the rebel government would resign and Governor Gibbs would reappoint it so that it would be regarded as internationally legal. Smith claimed to fear that Gibbs—acting on orders from London—would not reappoint him and his white government, and that the government would be given to the Black Nationalists. Smith's reluctance to accept an interim return to direct British rule before independence would prevent later attempts to end UDI.

Wilson’s impression, recorded in his memoirs, was that Smith had no intention of conceding majority rule. Wilson believed any undertakings Smith gave in this regard would be so hedged about with conditions that Smith could easily go back on them at a later date. The immediate problem was that Smith and Wilson appeared to both distrust and dislike one another.

The Tiger/Fearless terms for a phased transition to majority rule were offered by the British government again in 1971, and Smith accepted them on this occasion. Opposition to such a deal was so widespread (inside and outside Rhodesia), that it was no longer realistic. The offer was withdrawn. A few months later, attacks by black insurgents on white farms marked the start of the Bush War.

In 1974, B.J. Vorster, the Prime Minister of South Africa, began the process of persuading Smith to accept in principle that European minority rule could not continue indefinitely, as part of Vorster's foreign policy of towards the rest of Africa. Vorster was pursuing detente with the African states, who had promised Vorster that they would tolerate white rule in South Africa if he would help bring Rhodesia to heel.

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 Southern Africa and met with Smith and Vorster in Pretoria. UK Prime Minister James Callaghan declared that the plan "... offers a real hope of bringing peace." 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 (1965 to 1980), Ian Smith was given support in London by various groups, including the Conservative Monday Club who organised 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. Groups from other positions on the British 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.

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. But Smith did not accept the propositions offered. Smith would not concede an interim return to British rule, whereas the international community and the black nationalists would not accept any deal that did not involve this.

Smith's intention was to secure the position of the white community in a post-independence Rhodesia and whilst bringing about majority rule. The practical result of this delay was that the military balance in the Bush War began to tip in the insurgents' favour. Trained and armed insurgents entered the country in large numbers from other African countries. 80% of Rhodesian war casualties were incurred in the period January 1977 to December 1979.

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.

Meanwhile, the course of the Bush War was running increasingly in favour of the insurgents. 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 fringe 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 were held as part of this settlement. However, the main black nationalist parties (ZANU(PF) and ZAPU) did not participate, viewing the elections as unsatisfactory to their demands. Following the 1979 election, Rhodesia was re-named Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Bishop Abel Muzorewa (of the United African National Council (UANC) party) became the country's first 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.

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, the Bush War ended, sanctions were lifted and a British Governor (Lord Soames) took over the running of Rhodesia in December 1979.

After his retirement from active politics, Smith became an outspoken critic of the Mugabe regime. Mugabe himself often uses Smith's quiet retirement as validation of current policies. Smith has written an autobiography, The Great Betrayal, which is as much an attack on the Mugabe regime as a memoir of his own that preceded it. 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.



Unlike most of his contemporaries from the UDI era (for example, P. K. van der Byl), Smith remained resident in Zimbabwe and settled into a comfortable retirement. His son Alec returned from exile in Europe and became his business partner, taking over the running of the family 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.

As of 2006, Smith is 87 years old, living with his widowed step-daughter Jean in Cape Town, South Africa.