Christopher Hatikure Mutsvangwa (born 24 May 1955) is a Zimbabwean politician, diplomat and businessman. A veteran of the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

, Mutsvangwa served the government of independent Zimbabwe and the ZANU-PF party in a number of roles, including as Director-General of 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 bein ...

, Ambassador to China, head of the

Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) is a Zimbabwean organisation established by former guerrillas of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) who served durin ...

, and Veterans' Welfare Minister. In March 2016, he was suspended from ZANU-PF for 3 years for "gross misconduct and disloyalty" and fanning factionalism in the party.Tendai Mugabe
Latest: Mutsvangwa suspended
''Herald'', Published: 14 December 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2017 He has been accused of being a key figure in the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'etat. Mutsvangwa and his wife have parroted anti-Ndebele sentiments, with his wife mocking victims of the Gukurahundi Genocide.

Early life and education

Christopher Hatikure Mutsvangwa was born on 24 May 1955 at Salisbury Central Hospital in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a 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 known as South ...

(now Harare).
He Abandoned Law School in Pursuit of Independence
"The Herald". Published 24 July 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2017" He spent his early childhood in the Salisbury suburb of

Mbare Mbare, originally known as Harari, is a suburb in the south of Harare, Zimbabwe. Founded in 1907 as a township, it includes an informal settlement. Mbare Musika is the largest farm produce market in Zimbabwe. History Mbare was the first to ...

before returning to his family's home region near Chief Nyamweda,

Mashonaland Central Mashonaland Central is a province of Zimbabwe. It is divided into eight districts and has an area of 28,347 km2 and a population of 1,384,891 (2012 census), representing about 9.1% of the total Zimbabwe population. It is dominated by the S ...

. He did his primary education at Masawi and Marirangwe schools, and began his secondary studies at

Kutama College Kutama College (officially St Francis Xavier's Kutama College) is a private Catholic independent boarding high school near Norton, Zimbabwe in the Zvimba area, 80 kilometres southwest of Harare. Grown out of a Mission station founded in 1914 a ...

before completing his A-Levels at St Augustine's High in Penhalonga . Mutsvangwa was among just seven black students selected to enter the Faculty of Law of the then

University of Rhodesia The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It was opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the Univers ...

in 1975, but left shortly thereafter to join

ZIPRA Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), a Marxist–Leninist political party in Rhodesia. It participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhode ...

in Mozambique. He later completed his university education in the United States, receiving a BS in Management and Information Systems from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1984 and an MBA from St. John's University in 1990.

Political career

Mutsvangwa entered public life as a diplomat, serving at postings in Brussels under Ambassador Solomom J. Mahaka to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and New York to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

under

Stan Mudenge Isaak Stanislaus Gorerazvo Mudenge (17 December 1941 – 4 October 2012) was a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Foreign minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005 and as Minister of Higher Education ...

. In 1989, he was part of the UN observer team that monitored Namibia's first general elections, which were won by

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

, led by

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma ( ; 12May 19298February 2025) was a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first president of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and t ...

. Mutsvangwa left diplomatic service in 1990. In 1991, Mutsvangwa was appointed Director-General of the

. He stepped down in 1994 to return to the private sector, serving as an executive in the telecommunications industry. Returning to politics in 2000, he was elected ZANU-PF Party Secretary for

Harare Province Harare Metropolitan Province () is a province in northeastern Zimbabwe that comprises Harare, the country's capital and largest city, and three other municipalities, Chitungwiza, Epworth and Ruwa. At independence in 1980, it was originally p ...

. In 2002, he was appointed Zimbabwean Ambassador to China, tasked with deepening the country's foreign policy reorientation away from the West towards China. He served for four years until 2006, leaving under a "cloud of controversy" due to party infighting. In 2012, he was appointed Chairman of the Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe. In the 2013 elections, he was returned as MP for Norton. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and then the first Minister for Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, Former Political Detainees and Restrictees. Following his expulsion from ZANU-PF he was recalled from Parliament.

2017 coup d'etat

An ally of ousted Vice President

Emmerson Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa ( , ; born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as the president of Zimbabwe since 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former president Robert Mugabe, he held a series of cabin ...

, Mutsvangwa praised Army General

Constantino Chiwenga Constantino Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga (born Constantine Chiwenga; 25 August 1956), is a Zimbabwean politician and former army general currently serving, since 2017, as the First Vice-President of Zimbabwe under President Emmerson Mnan ...

for "a bloodless correction of gross abuse of power" and hoped that the army would restore a "genuine democracy" and Zimbabwe as a "modern model nation" following the 2017 coup d'état. Mutsvangwa was said to be involved in negotiations for a transitional government with Mnangagwa and

Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democrati ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutsvangwa, Christopher 1955 births Living people Ambassadors of Zimbabwe to China Boston University alumni Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe St. John's University (New York City) alumni Members of the 8th Parliament of Zimbabwe Politicians from Harare