Summary
The Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and the national defence organisations.
| Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces | |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Defence | |
| Reports to | Minister of Defence |
| Appointer | President of Zimbabwe |
| Formation | 1977 |
| First holder | Peter Walls |
List of chiefs edit
Commander Combined Operations (Comops), Rhodesian Security Forces edit
During May 1977, a Combined Operations headquarters (or "Comops" as it was referred to) was formed to direct the activities of all Rhodesian Security Forces. Prior to this, each service had its own command structure and active operations were co-ordinated, at a local level, through Joint Operation Commands (or JOCs). The first (and only) Commander Comops was Lieut.-General G. Peter Walls, former head of the Rhodesian Army. Air Marshal 'Mick' J. McLaren was Deputy Commander.[1][page needed]
| No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant General Peter Walls GLM, DCD, MBE (1926–2010) | 1977 | 1980 | 2–3 years | [2] |
Chairman, Joint High Command edit
Following the electoral victory of Robert Mugabe's ZANU party on 4 March 1980 a Joint High Command was established to oversee the integration of the former warring armies. Lieut.-General Peter Walls (former Commander of the Rhodesian Combined Operations) was appointed as Chairman of the Joint High Command. Other members included: Lieut.-General A. C. L. ‘Sandy’ Maclean (former Commander Zimbabwe-Rhodesian Army); Air Vice-Marshal Frank Mussell (former Commander Zimbabwe-Rhodesian Air Force); ‘Lieut.-General’ Lookout Masuku (former Commander Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army, ZIPRA); ‘Lieut.-General’ Solomon T. Mujuru, alias Rex Nhongo (former Commander Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, ZANLA); and Mr Alan Page (Secretary of Defence).[3]
| No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant General Peter Walls GLM, DCD, MBE (1926–2010) | March 1980 | July 1980 | 4 months |
Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces edit
In July 1980 Lieut-General Walls resigned and was exiled from Zimbabwe. Lieut-General ‘Sandy’ Maclean was appointed by then Prime Minister Mugabe as the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces on 8 August 1980, and promoted to General.[4]
| No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Andrew 'Sandy' Maclean (?–2019) | 8 August 1980 | 31 July 1982 | 1 year, 357 days | [5] | |
| 2 | General Solomon Mujuru (1949–2011) | 1 August 1982 | 1992 | 10–11 years | [6] | |
| 3 | General Vitalis Zvinavashe (1943–2009) | July 1994 | 31 December 2003 | 9 years, 5 months | [7] | |
| 4 | General Constantino Chiwenga (born 1956) | 1 January 2004 | 19 December 2017 | 13 years, 352 days | [8] | |
| 5 | General Philip Valerio Sibanda | 19 December 2017 | Incumbent | 6 years, 112 days | [9] |
References edit
- ^ Lovett, John (1977). Contact: A tribute to those who serve Rhodesia. Galaxie Press. ISBN 978-0869250532.
- ^ Abbott, Peter; Botham, Philip (1986). Modern African Wars (1) 1965-80 : Rhodesia. Men at Arms Series. Osprey Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 978-0850457285.
- ^ Alao, Abiodun, The metamorphosis of the ‘unorthodox’: the integration and early development of the Zimbabwean National Army, in: Bhebe, N. & Ranger, T. (eds) Soldiers in Zimbabwe’s Liberation War, Volume One, University of Zimbabwe Publications, Harare, 1995.
- ^ Matiashe, Farai, 'First ZDF commander Maclean dies', Newsday, 23 July 2019.
- ^ Matiashe, Farai (23 July 2019). "First ZDF commander Maclean dies". newsday.co.zw. Alpha Media Holdings. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Chan, Stephen (11 September 2011). "Solomon Mujuru obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ Mataire, Lovemore (1 December 2003). "Chiwenga Appointed ZDF Commander". Zimbabwe Situation. Harare: The Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ AFP (28 December 2017). "Zimbabwe general who led coup against Mugabe sworn in as VP". Daily Nation. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Xinhua (19 December 2017). "Zimbabwean president appoints new defense chief". xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.