Robert Mugabe has served as Zimbabwe's leader since 1980. He was Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987 and has been President since 1987. He became a hero across Africa after leading rebel forces to victory against white minority rule in the 1970s. In recent years, many have accused him of ruling with an iron fist and destroying his country’s economy and democracy.

Mugabe was born in 1924 in what was then the British colony Rhodesia. He was described as a loner at school who preferred his own company. Mugabe left Rhodesia to continue his education. On his travels, he met many influential African leaders and politicians. He earned a total of five Bachelor’s and two Master’s degrees from different universities around the world.

Mugabe joined the Zimbabwe African National Union in 1963. A year later he was arrested for making a “subversive speech” in which he called for greater equality for blacks. He spent the next ten years in prison. From 1975, Mugabe led the resistance against white rule. He won the general election in 1980 and changed his country’s colonial name.

Mugabe spent his first seven years in power trying to control bitter fighting between rival groups. He crushed opposition forces in 1987. Zimbabwe under Mugabe has slipped from being the breadbasket of Africa to one of the world’s poorest countries. Mugabe blames his country’s woes on the actions of its former colonizers. Many in Zimbabwe and around the world accuse him of being a dictator.

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