Ian Smith

Ian Smith was the Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. In 1965, he declared Rhodesia's independence from British control. The remainder of his term was marked by political conflict, both domestically and in the international community. Smith died in 2007 in South Africa.

When Smith became Prime Minister, the region was still under British control. In 1965, Smith declared unilateral independence and renamed the state from Southern Rhodesia to Rhodesia, but maintained entirely white rule.

Black nationalists were upset by continued white-only rule of the newly-independent state. In 1971, the Rhodesian Bush War began. Fighting ceased in 1979 when the Lancaster House Agreement was signed. The agreement formally ended white-only rule.