David Smith (Rhodesian politician)
David Colville Smith GLM ICD (19 April 1922 – 9 July 1996) was a farmer and politician in Rhodesia and its successor states, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe. He served in the cabinet of Rhodesia as Minister of Agriculture from 1968 to 1976, Minister of Finance from 1976 to 1979, and Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1978 to 1979. From 1976 to 1979, he also served Deputy Prime Minister of Rhodesia. He continued to serve as Minister of Finance in the government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979. In 1980, he was appointed Minister of Trade and Commerce of the newly independent Zimbabwe, one of two whites included in the cabinet of Prime Minister Robert Mugabe.
The Honourable David Smith GLM ICD | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Trade and Commerce of Zimbabwe | |
| In office 19 April 1980 – March 1981 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Mugabe |
| Deputy | Moses Mvenge |
| Preceded by | Ernest Bulle (Zimbabwe Rhodesia) |
| Succeeded by | Richard Hove |
| Minister of Finance of Zimbabwe Rhodesia | |
| In office 1 June 1979 – 12 December 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Abel Muzorewa |
| Deputy | Dennis Nyamuswa |
| Preceded by | Himself (Rhodesia) |
| Succeeded by | Enos Nkala (Zimbabwe) |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry of Rhodesia | |
| In office April 1978 – 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
| Succeeded by | Ernest Bulle (Zimbabwe Rhodesia) |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Rhodesia | |
| In office 20 August 1976 – 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
| Preceded by | John Wrathall |
| Succeeded by | Silas Mundawarara (Zimbabwe Rhodesia) |
| Minister of Finance of Rhodesia | |
| In office 13 January 1976 – 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
| Preceded by | John Wrathall |
| Succeeded by | Himself (Zimbabwe Rhodesia) |
| Minister of Agriculture of Rhodesia | |
| In office September 1968 – January 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
| Preceded by | George Rudland |
| Succeeded by | Rollo Hayman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 April 1922 Argyll, Scotland |
| Died | 9 July 1996 (aged 74) Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Resting place | Kilkerran Cemetery, Campbeltown, Scotland |
| Political party | Rhodesian Front |
| Spouse |
Jean Graham (m. 1948) |
| Children | 5 |
| Awards | |
Born in Kintyre, Scotland, Smith emigrated to Southern Rhodesia in 1946 to take up farming. Initially a farm assistant, he rose to become a farm manager and later co-founded a farming enterprise of his own in Mazowe. He was elected to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly in 1965, the year of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, and was added to the cabinet three years later as agriculture minister. He later held the portfolios of finance and commerce, and served for three years as Ian Smith's deputy prime minister. Considered a moderate within the Rhodesian Front, he was one of a few white ministers included in the cabinets of premier Abel Muzorewa of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, and by Robert Mugabe in 1980. He resigned from the cabinet and the Rhodesian Front in 1981, and remained in retirement in Harare until his death.