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The president of Zimbabwe is the head of state of Zimbabwe and head of the executive branch of the
government of Zimbabwe The politics of Zimbabwe takes place in a framework of a full presidential republic, whereby the President is the head of state and government as organized by the 2013 Constitution. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative pow ...
. The president chairs the national cabinet and is the chief commanding authority of the
Zimbabwe Defence Forces The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) are composed of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ). As a landlocked country, Zimbabwe has no navy. The most senior commander of the ZDF is General Philip Valerio Sibanda. At the ...
. The incumbent president is
Emmerson Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (, US: (); born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe, he held a ...
, installed on 24 November 2017 after his predecessor,
Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
resigned in the aftermath of a 2017 coup d'état.


History of the office

The office of the president of Zimbabwe was established in 1980, when the country gained independence from the United Kingdom. Per the
Lancaster House Agreement The Lancaster House Agreement, signed on 21 December 1979, declared a ceasefire, ending the Rhodesian Bush War; and directly led to Rhodesia achieving internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe. It required the full resumption of di ...
, Zimbabwe was originally a parliamentary republic, with the president serving in mostly a ceremonial role. Real power was vested in the prime minister,
Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
. A Methodist minister,
Canaan Banana Canaan Sodindo Banana (5 March 193610 November 2003) was a Zimbabwean Methodist minister, theologian, and politician who served as the first President of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987. He was Zimbabwe's first head of state (Ceremonial President) a ...
, became the first president, serving until 1987. He resigned in 1987 shortly after the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princi ...
was amended to make the presidency an executive post, and the office of Prime Minister was abolished. Mugabe was appointed to succeed him, and was elected in his own right in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
and four more times thereafter. The office of Prime Minister was restored as a result of the 2008–09 political negotiations, but abolished again following the 2013 constitutional referendum. Under the rules adopted by the same referendum, the president serves a maximum of two five-year terms. This did not have a retroactive effect on past terms of office already served or currently being served as of 2013.


2017 coup d'état and Mugabe's resignation

On 14 November 2017, armed military personnel from the
Zimbabwe Defence Forces The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) are composed of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ). As a landlocked country, Zimbabwe has no navy. The most senior commander of the ZDF is General Philip Valerio Sibanda. At the ...
invaded the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is the state-owned broadcaster in Zimbabwe. It was established as the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), taking its current name in 1980. Like the RBC before it, the ZBC has been accused of bei ...
studios in
Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
before Major General
Sibusiso Moyo Sibusiso Busi Moyo (SB Moyo) (196020 January 2021) was a Zimbabwean politician and army Lieutenant general. He was noted for announcing the ousting of Robert Mugabe on national television during the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état. He went on to s ...
came out on a live television broadcast declaring that the army had activated an operation that would later be known as "Operation Restore Legacy." Moyo stated that President Mugabe and his family would be safe and their security would be guaranteed, as the operation was only targeting criminals around him. What followed thereafter was a well-planned and carefully executed crackdown on members of a faction within the ruling ZANU-PF party known as G40. The
Zimbabwe Republic Police The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is the national police force of Zimbabwe, having succeeded the British South Africa Police on 1 August 1980. History The predecessor of the Zimbabwe Republic Police was the British South Africa Police of Rhode ...
and the
Central Intelligence Organisation The Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) is the national intelligence agency of Zimbabwe. It was conceived as the external intelligence-gathering arm of the British South Africa Police Special Branch in the early 1960s, under the Southern Rh ...
, both deemed loyal to the president, were neutralised by the army, which arrested some of their top leaders. On 21 November 2017, facing all-but certain impeachment from a combined session of the House of Assembly and Senate, Mugabe resigned as president. Former vice president
Emmerson Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (, US: (); born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe, he held a ...
was sworn in as his replacement on 24 November 2017.


Presidents of Zimbabwe (1980–present)

Phelekezela Mphoko Phelekezela Mphoko (born 11 June 1940) is a Zimbabwean politician, diplomat, businessman and former military commander who served as Second Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 2014 until 2017, as well as Zimbabwe's ambassador to Russia, Botswana a ...
was the second (and only sitting) vice-president at the time of Mugabe's resignation on 21 November 2017. Mphoko may have been acting president of Zimbabwe for three days until Mnangagwa's accession to the presidency. However, as Mphoko was not in the country at the time, and due to the unusual circumstances, any official standing on this is unclear and may never be known.


Rank by time in office


Latest election

Mnangagwa ran for re-election in 2018 as the
ZANU–PF The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years under Robert Mugabe, first as prime minis ...
candidate. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition party MDC-T, had died earlier in the year and been replaced by
Nelson Chamisa Nelson Chamisa (born 2 February 1978) is a Zimbabwean politician and the current President of the Citizens Coalition For Change. He served as Member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for Kuwadzana East, Harare. Chamisa was the MDC Allianc ...
. Chamisa ran as the MDC Alliance candidate against Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa was re-elected without the need for a
runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...
, winning 50.8% of the vote to Chamisa's 44.3%. The election result was disputed by the MDC Alliance.


See also

*
List of heads of state of Zimbabwe This article lists the heads of state of Zimbabwe from the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) of Rhodesia in 1965 to the present day. From 1965 to 1970 the head of state under the UDI was the Monarch in person of Elizabeth II, who si ...
*
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe 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 to ...
*
Vice President of Zimbabwe The vice-president of Zimbabwe is the second highest political position obtainable in Zimbabwe. Currently there is a provision for two vice-presidents, who are appointed by the president of Zimbabwe. The vice-presidents are designated as "First ...
*
President of Rhodesia The president of Rhodesia was the head of state of Rhodesia from 1970 to 1979. As Rhodesia reckoned itself a parliamentary republic rather than a presidential republic at the time, the president's post was almost entirely ceremonial, and the r ...
* President of Zimbabwe Rhodesia


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:President Of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
*
Presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
1980 establishments in Zimbabwe