Garfield Todd

Sir Garfield Todd (July 13, 1908 - October 13, 2002) was prime minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1953 to 1958 and later became an opponent of white minority rule in Rhodesia.

Todd immigrated to Southern Rhodesia from New Zealand in 1934 as a Protestant missionary and ran the Dadaya New Zealand Churches of Christ Mission school. One of the primary school teachers in his charge was Robert Mugabe. Originally a Protestant missionary, though he had no medical training Todd and his wife, Grace, set up a clinic where he delivered hundreds of babies and treated minor injuries.

In 1948 when he was elected to the colonial parliament. He succeeded Sir Godfery Martin Huggins as leader of the United Rhodesia Party and prime minister of Southern Rhodesia in 1953 when Huggins became prime minister of the newly created Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland at its creation in 1953. At the same time the United Rhodesia Party became the United Federal Party.

From 1955 to 1960 Todd served as first vice president of the World Convention of Churches of Christ.

Todd introduced modest reforms aimed at improving the education of the Black majority. He introduced the appellation "Mr" for Africans instead of "AM" (African Male) and permitted Blacks to drink European beer and wine, though not spirits. His government introduced a plan to give elementary education to every African of school age. He doubled the number of primary schools and gave grants to missionary run schools to introduce secondary school and pre-university courses for Blacks. He also passed a bill that allowed for multiracial trade unions.

His government tried to legalise sexual relations between white men and black women and to increase the number of Blacks eligible to vote from 2 % to 16 % of the electorate, but this was soundly rejected.

These reforms were seen as radical and dangerously liberal by most whites who felt that their grip on power was threatened. Todd's party forced him out of power when his ministers resigned en bloc and three months later he was replaced as party leader and prime minister by Edgar Whitehead.

In a farewell statement, he said "We must make it possible for every individual to lead the good life, to win a place in the sun. We are in danger of becoming a race of fear-ridden neurotics - we who live in the finest country on Earth."

Todd formed a new party which failed to win any seats in the election. The governments that succeeded him intensified the oppression of the Black majority culminating in the repression introduced by the Ian Smith regime.

Out of power, Todd became increasingly critical of white minority rule and was an outspoken opponent of Ian Smith's 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom.

Todd applied for an exit visa to lead a teach-in at Edinburgh University to educate British public opinion on the inequities of white rule. The Rhodesian government banned him from leaving the country and placed him under house arrest.

In 1972 Todd and his daughter, Grace, were imprisoned for a second time. Grace Todd was ultimately forced into exile and became an "unperson" in Rhodesia when the media was banned from even mentioning her name. Todd himself was confined to his ranch near Bulawayo where he covertly assisted Black guerrillas fighting to overthrow the government.

The Smith regime was ultimately forced to give up power and the colony became the independent state of Zimbabwe in 1980. Prime Minister Robert Mugabwe appointed Todd to the Senate in that year and Todd served in the upper house until his retirement in 1985. However, Todd became disillusioned with the Mugabe regime due to its violence against political opponents.

In retirement, Todd donated 3,000 acres (12 km²) of his ranch to guerrillas who had been disabled in the war of independence. Todd's criticism of Mugabe intensified and in 2002 he was stripped of Zimbabwean citizenship.

Todd was knighted in 1989 by the British government with the approval of Mugabe. In 1973 he received a medal for his efforts in peace and justice from the Pope.

External link

• Sir Garfield Todd: Liberal Rhodesian premier brought down over black reforms (http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,811389,00.html) - Obituary in The Guardian