Robert Mugabe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe (born February 21, 1924) has been the head of government in Zimbabwe, first as Prime Minister and later as first executive President, since 1980.

Social programmes

Mugabe improved health and education for the black majority after elections agreed to after the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979.

Related Topics:
Lancaster House Agreement - 1979

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In 1991, amid international pressure and short on hard currency, Zimbabwe embarked on a neoliberal austerity program, but the International Monetary Fund suspended aid, claiming that the reforms were "not on track."

Related Topics:
1991 - Neoliberal - Austerity - International Monetary Fund

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At the same time he pursued a "moral campaign" against homosexuality, making what he deemed "unnatural sex acts" illegal with a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. This included the arrest of his predecessor as President of Zimbabwe, Canaan Banana, who was convicted of alleged gay sex offences. While Zimbabwe has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world, the vast majority of sufferers there are heterosexual.

Related Topics:
Homosexuality - Canaan Banana

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Mugabe was criticized for his intervention in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at a time when the Zimbabwean economy was struggling. The war raised accusations of corruption, with officials alleged to be plundering the Congo's mineral reserves.

Related Topics:
Civil war - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Zimbabwean economy - Mineral

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