occupation ndabaningi sithole
Robert Gabriel Mugabe ( born 21 February 1924 ) is a Zimbabwean ___MASK33___ and ___MASK59___ who has governed the Republic of Zimbabwe as its President since 1987 , having previously governed as its Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987 . Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist , he has led the Zimbabwe African National Union  Patriotic Front ( ZANU  PF ) party since 1975 . The Zimbabwe African National Union was a ___MASK68___ organization that fought against the white minority government in Rhodesia , formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People ' s Union ( ZAPU ). ZANU won the 1980 elections under the leadership of Robert Mugabe , and seven years later merged with Joshua Nkomo ' s ZAPU to form ZANU - PF . Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo ( 19 June 1917  1 July 1999 ) was the ___MASK83___ and founder of the Zimbabwe African People ' s Union ( ZAPU ) and a ___MASK46___ of the Ndebele ( Kalanga ) tribe . Rhodesia , commonly known from 1970 onwards as the Republic of Rhodesia , was an unrecognised state in southern Africa from 1965 to 1979 , equivalent in territorial terms to modern Zimbabwe . With its capital in Salisbury ( now Harare ), Rhodesia was considered a " de facto " successor state to the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia ( which had achieved responsible government in 1923 ). The Zimbabwe African National Union  Patriotic Front ( ZANU  PF ) has been the ruling party in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 . The party has been led by Robert Mugabe , first as Prime ___MASK66___ with the Zimbabwe African National Union ( ZANU ) and then as President from 1988 after merger with the Zimbabwe African People ' s Union ( ZAPU ) and retaining the name ZANU  PF . In the 2008 parliamentary election , the ZANU  PF lost sole control of parliament for the first time in party history and brokered a difficult power - sharing deal with the Movement for Democratic Change  Tsvangirai ( MDC ), but subsequently won the 2013 election and gained a two - thirds majority . The Zimbabwe African People ' s Union ( ZAPU ) is a Zimbabwean political party . It was a ___MASK68___ organisation and political party that fought for the national liberation of Zimbabwe from its founding in 1961 until independence in 1980 . In 1987 it merged with the Zimbabwe African National Union  Patriotic Front ( ZANU - PF ) and was relaunched in 2008 . 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 branch ) in Westminster democracies are responsible to parliament rather than to the ___MASK56___ , or , in a colonial context , to the imperial government , and in a republican context , to the president , either in full or in part . If the parliament is bicameral , then the government is responsible first to the parliament ' s lower house , which is more numerous , always directly elected and thus more representative than the upper house . Responsible government of parliamentary accountability manifests itself in several ways . Ministers account to Parliament for their decisions and for the performance of their departments . This requirement to make announcements and to answer questions in Parliament means that ministers have to have the privileges of the " floor " which are only granted to those who are members of either house of Parliament . Secondly , and most importantly , although ministers are officially appointed by the authority of the ___MASK26___ and can theoretically be dismissed at the pleasure of the sovereign , they concurrently retain their office subject to their holding the confidence of the lower house of Parliament . When the lower house has passed a motion of no confidence in the government , the government must immediately resign or submit itself to the electorate in a new general election . Zimbabwe , officially the Republic of Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in southern Africa , between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers . It is bordered by South Africa to the south , Botswana to the west and southwest , Zambia to the northwest , and Mozambique to the east and northeast . Although it does not border Namibia , less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates it from that country . The capital and largest city is Harare . A country of roughly 13 million people , Zimbabwe has 16 ___MASK98___ languages , with English , Shona , and Ndebele the most commonly used . Rev . Ndabaningi Sithole ( pronunciation : nda - va - nin - gee sitt - o - le ) ( 31 July 1920 -- 12 December 2000 ) founded the Zimbabwe African National Union ( ZANU ) , a ___MASK68___ organisation that opposed the government of Rhodesia , in July 1963 . A ___MASK46___ of the Ndau ethnic group ( more closely tied to the Mashona than the Ndebele who supported the ZAPU ) , he also worked as a Methodist ___MASK66___ . He spent 10 years in prison after the government banned ZANU . A rift along tribal lines split ZANU in 1975 , and he lost the 1980 elections to Robert Mugabe .