Notwithstanding the ruinous policies of the Rhodesia Front party he led, Ian Douglas Smith himself obviously had a deep love for Zimbabwe, evidenced by the fact that unlike so many of his colleagues he continued to live in Zimbabwe after independence (he only went to South Africa at the end of his life for medical treatment) and remained a Zimbabwean citizen until his death.
Ian Smith lived an exemplary family life and in private was a down-to-earth, modest man. Ian Smith was not corrupt nor was he a megalomaniac. However whilst Ian Smith acted in what he thought were the best interests of then Rhodesia he made some disastrous political decisions as Prime Minister which directly contributed to the trauma that Zimbabwe is suffering from today.
The racially discriminatory and draconian laws introduced or maintained, and the Unilateral Declaration of Independence made, during his tenure as Prime Minister were the root cause of the civil war which tore Rhodesia apart in the 1970s. The policies of his Rhodesia Front party radicalized black nationalists and directly spawned the violent and fascist rule of Zanu PF.
David Coltart MP
Bulawayo South
21st November 2007