Rhodesian Front
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 March
1962 by whites opposed to any immediate moves to black
majority rule. Surprisingly, it won power in the
general election that December. 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.
Rhodesians Never Die, Godwin, P. & Hancock, I., 1995. Baobab Books, Harare, Zimbabwe.
