George Rollo Hayman (4 May 1925 – 3 April 2008) was a

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to th ...

n farmer and politician. A member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gover ...

, he served in several portfolios as a member of the Cabinet of Rhodesia under

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...

. Born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, he moved to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally k ...

at age four and served as a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

pilot in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Elected to Parliament in 1958 as a member of the

United Federal Party The United Federal Party (UFP) was a political party in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. History The UFP was formed in November 1957 by a merger of the Federal Party, which had operated at the federal level, and the Southern Rhodesian ...

, he was a founding member of the

Rhodesian Front The Rhodesian Front was a right-wing conservative political party in Southern Rhodesia, subsequently known as Rhodesia. It was the last ruling party of Southern Rhodesia prior to that country's unilateral declaration of independence, and the ru ...

party in 1962. He joined the Cabinet in 1976 upon being appointed

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

. In 1977, he was named Minister of Local Government and Housing and

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government ...

. In December 1978, he resigned from the Cabinet, from Parliament, and from the party, protesting the Prime Minister's rejection of British-American plans for Rhodesia's transition to majority rule. He ran as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

for his former seat in Parliament, but lost. He soon moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, where he lived until his death.

Early life and education

Hayman was born on 4 May 1925 to Samuel James Rollo Hayman and Ethel Elizabeth Burnell Pollard. Born in

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, Oxfordshire,

, he moved to

with his parents in 1929, when he was age four. He was educated at Plumtree School in

Plumtree A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zam ...

. He matriculated at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, graduating honors with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in soil conservation. In 1943, he joined the

as a flight sergeant. He served during

as a pilot with the

Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 19 ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Farming career

Hayman returned to Southern Rhodesia in 1949, taking up work as a conservation and extension officer until 1955. He later purchased land and took up farming in Shamva, a town in the northern

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirel ...

region. He went on to serve as chairman of the Shamva Farmers' Association, chairman of the Shamva Parents' Association, and director of the Rhodesian Farmers' Syndicates.

Political career

Hayman was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

for the Shamva constituency in the 1958 Southern Rhodesian elections, as a member of the

. He, along with

, Lance Smith, and four others, resigned from the UFP on 19 April 1961 over the party's position on constitutional proposals for Southern Rhodesia. In 1962, he became a founding member of the right-wing

party, which opposed transitioning Southern Rhodesia to independence under black majority rule. Hayman ran for reelection as the Rhodesian Front candidate for the Mazoe constituency in the

1962 elections The following elections occurred in 1962. Africa * Algerian independence referendum * 1962 Chadian parliamentary election * Gambian legislative election * Northern Rhodesian general election * Southern Rhodesian general election * Federat ...

. He won with 56% of the vote, defeating the

candidate Neil Patrick Hammond. At a 2 December 1962 meeting, the Rhodesian Front parliamentary caucus met and returned a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in Prime Minister

Winston Field Winston Joseph Field (6 June 1904 – 17 March 1969) was a Rhodesian politician who served as the seventh Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. Field was a former Dominion Party MP who founded the Rhodesian Front political party with Ian Smith. ...

. Hayman was one of only two RF members to vote against the motion, alongside

Jack Howman John Hartley Howman (8 November 1919 – 2 February 2002) served as a Rhodesian Front Member of Parliament in Salisbury and the Minister of Tourism and Information in the cabinet of Prime Minister Ian Smith. He became Rhodesian minister ...

. Hayman won reelection in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

, and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

, each time with more than 80% of the vote. In 1973, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. He joined

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

in 1976 when he was named

. In 1977, he became minister of two portfolios, Local Government and Housing and Internal Affairs. In those offices, he served alongside black co-ministers appointed as a result of the 1978

Internal Settlement The Internal Settlement was an agreement which was signed on 3 March 1978 between Prime Minister of Rhodesia Ian Smith and the moderate African nationalist leaders comprising Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Ndabaningi Sithole and Senator Chief Jeremiah Ch ...

. Hayman's co-Minister of Local Government and Housing was

Kayisa Ndiweni Khayisa Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni (1913–2010) was a chief in Zimbabwe. He was hugely respected in Matabeleland and a revered figure among his people in Ntabazinduna.. He became a chief of the Matebele people of Ntabazinduna and Mbembezi in 1939. He ...

, followed by

James Chikerema James Robert Dambaza Chikerema (2 April 1925 – 22 March 2006) served as the President of the Front for the Liberation of Zimbabwe.Nyangoni, Wellington Winter. ''Africa in the United Nations System.'' Page 141. He changed his views on militant ...

. For Internal Affairs, the co-minister was Byron Hove, followed by Kayisa Ndiweni.

Resignation and special election

On 27 December 1978, Hayman resigned from his cabinet posts, from Parliament, and from the Rhodesian Front. He charged that Prime Minister Ian Smith was "leading Rhodesians into a trap" by rejecting

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

plans for majority rule. Hayman favored the plan put forward by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

in which Rhodesia would revert to British rule under a commissioner, assisted by

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

peacekeepers, who would oversee elections and the transition to black rule. He thought that any black government elected under Smith's plan, in which 28% of the government was to be reserved for whites, would collapse or be overthrown by guerrillas, resulting in Marxist rule in Rhodesia. In a political meeting in Enkeldoorn, Hayman also argued that Smith was misleading the country by claiming that Rhodesia had a good change of gaining

international recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accorde ...

following the elections. Additionally, he thought it would be impossible to organize the elections by December 31, the date stipulated by the Internal Settlement. The resignation of Hayman, a staunch conservative and an close ally of the Prime Minister, was seen as a blow to the transitional government. Prime Minister Ian Smith later said that he had asked Hayman to resign when he learned he was planning to leave Rhodesia. He said: The day he resigned, Hayman announced that he would run as an

for his former seat in Parliament in the special election. The byelection, held on 6 February 1979, was the last election conducted before the advent of the new constitution. Hayman lost the election with 20% of the vote to Cecil Millar, the Rhodesian Front candidate. Soon after, he moved to

Personal life and death

Hayman died, aged 82, on 3 April 2008 at home in the Amberglen retirement community in Howick,

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

, South Africa. He was married to Madeline Elizabeth, with two children, one son and one daughter. He played

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayman, Rollo 1925 births British emigrants to Rhodesia Conservationists Independent politicians in Zimbabwe Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Members of the Parliament of Rhodesia Members of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia People from Banbury Rhodesian emigrants to South Africa Rhodesian farmers Rhodesian Front politicians Rhodesian people of British descent Rhodesian politicians Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force pilots of World War II South African people of English descent Southern Rhodesian military personnel of World War II United Federal Party politicians University of the Witwatersrand alumni White Rhodesian people 2008 deaths