Research topic: Ian Douglas Smith

Ian Douglas Smith 1919-, Rhodesian political leader. He served in the Southern Rhodesia legislative assembly from 1948 until 1953, when he was elected to the federal parliament of the Central African Federation, where he served until 1961. He helped establish the white supremacist Rhodesian Front (RF) party that favored independence for Southern Rhodesia from Britain. In Dec., 1962, shortly before the breakup of the Federation, the RF won in Southern Rhodesia elevating Smith to deputy prime minister and minister of the treasury. Becoming prime minister of Rhodesia (1964), he brutally suppres... Read more