The prime minister of Zimbabwe was a political office in the government of Zimbabwe that existed on two occasions. The first person to hold the position was Robert Mugabe from 1980 to 1987 following independence from the United Kingdom. He took office when Southern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980. This position was abolished when the constitution was amended in 1987 and Mugabe became president of Zimbabwe, replacing Canaan Banana as the head of state while also remaining the head of government. The office of prime minister was restored in 2009 and held by Morgan Tsvangirai until the position was again abolished by the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe.[1]
Zimbabwe's prime ministerial office owes its origins to the country's predecessor states. The position began with George Mitchell who became prime minister of Southern Rhodesia in 1933. All subsequent predecessor-states continued with the post until Abel Muzorewa who became prime minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979 under the Internal Settlement. The Lancaster House Agreement brought an independence constitution which made provision for a parliamentary system, with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. The presidency was mostly ceremonial; real power was vested with the prime minister.
However, in 1987 the government revised the constitution and made the presidency an executive post. The prime minister's post was abolished, and its functions were effectively merged with those of the president. Mugabe ascended to the presidency.
The restoration of the office of prime minister in 2009 was a result of a power-sharing agreement made in September 2008 between Mugabe's ZANU–PF and rival candidate Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC–T after the 2008 presidential election and later run-off. Mugabe remained president while Tsvangirai was sworn into the office of prime minister on 11 February 2009. Executive authority was shared between the president, the prime minister and the cabinet, with ZANU–PF and the MDC–T sharing portfolio ministries. It was the prime minister's role to chair the council of ministers and act as the deputy chairperson of Cabinet and also oversee the formulation of government policies by the Cabinet. In addition, the prime minister was a member of the National Security Council, chaired by the president and sat alongside the heads of the armed forces, intelligence, prison services and police. According to section 20.1.8 of the 1980 Constitution of Zimbabwe (No. 19) Amendment, the prime minister, vice-presidents and deputy prime ministers became ex officio members of the House of Assembly without needing to represent parliamentary constituencies, and the party of a constituency-based MP who concurrently served in any of the above offices held the right to nominate non-constituency members to such offices. The post of prime minister did not hold the full executive powers it held during the 1980s and the president remained head of the cabinet. In 2012 Tsvangirai claimed that the power-sharing agreement was not being honoured and that he was not being consulted by the president over some appointments.[2] The government held a referendum in March 2013 to approve a new constitution. As a result, the post of prime minister was abolished from 11 September 2013. Tsvangirai and Mugabe both contested the general election in July 2013 for the single post of president. Mugabe was elected.
Prime ministers of Zimbabwe (1980–1987; 2009–2013)
^Chinaka, Cris (10 September 2013). "Mugabe appoints ZANU-PF lawyer as Zimbabwe Finance Minister". Reuters. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
^Green, Adam Robert (5 March 2012). . This Is Africa Online. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
External links
April 18, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Prime Minister of Zimbabwe news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The prime minister of Zimbabwe was a political office in the government of Zimbabwe that existed on two occasions The first person to hold the position was Robert Mugabe from 1980 to 1987 following independence from the United Kingdom He took office when Southern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980 This position was abolished when the constitution was amended in 1987 and Mugabe became president of Zimbabwe replacing Canaan Banana as the head of state while also remaining the head of government The office of prime minister was restored in 2009 and held by Morgan Tsvangirai until the position was again abolished by the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe 1 Prime Minister of theRepublic of ZimbabweNduna Yaikulu ya Zimbabwe Chichewa Coat of arms of ZimbabweResidenceZimbabwe House HarareAppointerPresident of ZimbabweFormation18 April 198011 February 2009First holderRobert MugabeFinal holderMorgan TsvangiraiAbolished31 December 198711 September 2013 Contents 1 History of the office 1 1 Original office 1 2 Restored office 2 Prime ministers of Zimbabwe 1980 1987 2009 2013 3 Rank by time in office 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksHistory of the office EditOriginal office Edit Zimbabwe s prime ministerial office owes its origins to the country s predecessor states The position began with George Mitchell who became prime minister of Southern Rhodesia in 1933 All subsequent predecessor states continued with the post until Abel Muzorewa who became prime minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979 under the Internal Settlement The Lancaster House Agreement brought an independence constitution which made provision for a parliamentary system with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government The presidency was mostly ceremonial real power was vested with the prime minister The 1980 election resulted in a ZANU PF victory with Robert Mugabe becoming prime minister and Canaan Banana president Mugabe and Banana were returned to office in the 1985 election However in 1987 the government revised the constitution and made the presidency an executive post The prime minister s post was abolished and its functions were effectively merged with those of the president Mugabe ascended to the presidency Restored office Edit Main article 2008 2009 Zimbabwean political negotiations The restoration of the office of prime minister in 2009 was a result of a power sharing agreement made in September 2008 between Mugabe s ZANU PF and rival candidate Morgan Tsvangirai s MDC T after the 2008 presidential election and later run off Mugabe remained president while Tsvangirai was sworn into the office of prime minister on 11 February 2009 Executive authority was shared between the president the prime minister and the cabinet with ZANU PF and the MDC T sharing portfolio ministries It was the prime minister s role to chair the council of ministers and act as the deputy chairperson of Cabinet and also oversee the formulation of government policies by the Cabinet In addition the prime minister was a member of the National Security Council chaired by the president and sat alongside the heads of the armed forces intelligence prison services and police According to section 20 1 8 of the 1980 Constitution of Zimbabwe No 19 Amendment the prime minister vice presidents and deputy prime ministers became ex officio members of the House of Assembly without needing to represent parliamentary constituencies and the party of a constituency based MP who concurrently served in any of the above offices held the right to nominate non constituency members to such offices The post of prime minister did not hold the full executive powers it held during the 1980s and the president remained head of the cabinet In 2012 Tsvangirai claimed that the power sharing agreement was not being honoured and that he was not being consulted by the president over some appointments 2 The government held a referendum in March 2013 to approve a new constitution As a result the post of prime minister was abolished from 11 September 2013 Tsvangirai and Mugabe both contested the general election in July 2013 for the single post of president Mugabe was elected Prime ministers of Zimbabwe 1980 1987 2009 2013 EditNo Portrait Prime Minister Took office Left office Time in office Party Election President s 1 Mugabe Robert Robert Mugabe 1924 2019 18 April 198031 December 19877 years 257 daysZANU19801985Canaan BananaPost abolished 31 December 1987 11 February 2009 2 Tsvangirai Morgan Morgan Tsvangirai 1952 2018 11 February 200911 September 20134 years 212 daysMDC T2008 a Robert MugabePost abolished 11 September 2013 present Rank by time in office EditRank President Time in office1 Robert Mugabe 7 years 257 days2 Morgan Tsvangirai 4 years 212 daysSee also EditPresident of Zimbabwe Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Prime Minister of Rhodesia Prime Minister of Zimbabwe RhodesiaNotes Edit Appointed to the post of prime minister following the 2008 2009 political negotiations References Edit Chinaka Cris 10 September 2013 Mugabe appoints ZANU PF lawyer as Zimbabwe Finance Minister Reuters Retrieved 17 April 2022 Green Adam Robert 5 March 2012 Morgan Tsvangirai Prime Minister of Zimbabwe This Is Africa Online Archived from the original on 24 February 2014 Retrieved 19 February 2014 External links EditZimbabwe Prime Minister Online Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Prime Minister of Zimbabwe amp oldid 1135526674, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
