David Smith (Rhodesian politician)
David Colville Smith GLM ICD (19 April 1922 – 9 July 1996) was a farmer and politician in Rhodesia and its successor states, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe. He served in the cabinet of Rhodesia as Minister of Agriculture from 1968 to 1976, Minister of Finance from 1976 to 1979, and Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1978 to 1979. From 1976 to 1979, he also served Deputy Prime Minister of Rhodesia. He continued to serve as Minister of Finance in the government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979. In 1980, he was appointed Minister of Trade and Commerce of the newly independent Zimbabwe, one of two whites included in the cabinet of Prime Minister Robert Mugabe.
David Smith
Himself (Rhodesia)
Himself (Zimbabwe Rhodesia)
19 April 1922
Argyll, Scotland
Kilkerran Cemetery, Campbeltown, Scotland
5
Born in Kintyre, Scotland, Smith emigrated to Southern Rhodesia in 1946 to take up farming. Initially a farm assistant, he rose to become a farm manager and later co-founded a farming enterprise of his own in Mazowe. He was elected to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly in 1965, the year of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, and was added to the cabinet three years later as agriculture minister. He later held the portfolios of finance and commerce, and served for three years as Ian Smith's deputy prime minister. Considered a moderate within the Rhodesian Front, he was one of a few white ministers included in the cabinets of premier Abel Muzorewa of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, and by Robert Mugabe in 1980. He resigned from the cabinet and the Rhodesian Front in 1981, and remained in retirement in Harare until his death.
Early life and family[edit]
Smith was born on 19 April 1922 on the Kintyre peninsula of Argyll, Scotland, either in Campbeltown[1][2] or at his family's Corran farm in Clachan.[3][4][5][6] He was the son of farmer William Reid Smith, a Newmains native, and Margaret Brown Mundell, who originated from Bellochantuy.[4] He was educated at Campbeltown Grammar School.[3][4][6]
Smith emigrated to Southern Rhodesia in 1946, sailing from England on the Winchester Castle's first post-war voyage.[1][3][4][7][8] His brother, Hamish Smith, also moved to the colony and farmed in Nyabira.[9] Prior to leaving, Smith became engaged to Jean Barclay Graham, whom he married in 1948.[3][4][7] Together, they had five children, Catherine, Marge, Graham, Elizabeth, and William Lindsay—who died in 1952 at the age of two—and fourteen grandchildren.[2][4][7]
Farming in Rhodesia[edit]
In Southern Rhodesia, Smith initially worked as a farm assistant, before becoming a farm manager.[1][3][4][6][10] He later started his own farming enterprise, Smith and Wheeler (Pvt) Ltd., with a partner in Mazowe.[3][6][7][10] He joined the Grain Marketing Board in 1953, and served on several other agricultural committees.[3] He became chairman of the national Farmers' Co-operative in 1966.[3][4] In 1974, he purchased a farm in Banket worth several hundred thousand dollars.[1]
Later life and death[edit]
After leaving politics, Smith remained in Zimbabwe in retirement.[5][7] He enjoyed riding and shooting, and was a member of the Harare Club and Dining Club.[3] He died at his home in Harare on 9 July 1996 at age 74, several years after being diagnosed with heart disease.[5][7][32] He was buried at Kilkerran Cemetery in Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, with his parents and son, William.
