George Mitchell (1 April 1867 – 4 July 1937) served as

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

from July to September 1933.

Early life

Born in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

in the south-west of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, he emigrated to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1889, and moved to

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 Zambezi ...

six years later to work as the manager of the Bank of Africa branch in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

. In 1901 he left the bank to become General Manager of the Rhodesia Exploration and Development Company, which sought to build up property.

Political career

Elected as a Member of the

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council The Legislative Council of Southern Rhodesia was the inaugural governing body for the British South Africa Company (BSAC) territory of Southern Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) before its replacement by the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly in 192 ...

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

for the Western District, in 1918 Mitchell retired from business and thereafter devoted himself to politics where he was a supporter of the Rhodesia Party and of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

within the colony of Southern Rhodesia. Re-elected as the member for the Bulawayo District in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

, he retired from the council in 1920. With the grant of responsible government in 1923, Mitchell stood at the first election to the

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970. Background In 1898, the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council, Southern Rhodesia's first elected representative body, was foun ...

for the seat of Bulawayo South, but was unsuccessful. He stood again at the 1928 election for the seat of Gwanda and was successful. He was appointed to the Government of Southern Rhodesia on 1 November 1930 as Minister of Mines and Public Works. From 19 May 1932, he served as Minister of Mines and Agriculture. When

Howard Moffat Howard Unwin Moffat (13 January 186919 January 1951) served as second premier of Southern Rhodesia, from 1927 to 1933. Early life Born in the Kuruman mission station in Bechuanaland (now in the Northern Cape province of South Africa), Moffat ...

resigned in 1933, Mitchell was chosen as the new Premier and chose to change the job title to Prime Minister. His government was a short one, lasting from 5 July 1933 until the Rhodesia Party lost the general election of September 1933, with Mitchell losing his own seat in the process, to the Reform Party led by

Godfrey Huggins Godfrey Martin Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern (6 July 1883 – 8 May 1971), was a Rhodesian politician and physician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1933 to 1953 and remained in office as the first prime mini ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, George Prime ministers of Rhodesia Rhodesian politicians White Rhodesian people 1867 births 1937 deaths British emigrants to Rhodesia Members of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia People from Southern Rhodesia