Morgan Tsvangirai

Morgan Tsvangirai
Tsvangirai in 2009
2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
In office
11 February 2009 – 11 September 2013
PresidentRobert Mugabe
DeputyThokozani Khuphe
Arthur Mutambara
Preceded byRobert Mugabe (1987)
Succeeded byOffice abolished
President of the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai
Movement for Democratic Change (1999–2005)
In office
30 September 1999 – 14 February 2018
Preceded byGibson Sibanda
Succeeded byNelson Chamisa
Leader of the Opposition
In office
30 September 1999 – 14 February 2018
PresidentRobert Mugabe
Emmerson Mnangagwa
Preceded byAbel Muzorewa
Succeeded byNelson Chamisa
General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
In office
10 May 1987 – 30 September 1999
Preceded byMasotsha Ndhlovu
Succeeded byWellington Chibebe
Personal details
Born
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai

(1952-03-10)10 March 1952
Gutu, Southern Rhodesia
Died14 February 2018(2018-02-14) (aged 65)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Cause of deathColorectal cancer
Political partyZimbabwe African National Union (before 1987)
Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (1987–1999)
Movement for Democratic Change (1999–2005)
Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (2005–2018)
Spouses
(m. 1978; died 2009)
Elizabeth Macheka
(m. 2011)
Children9
Signature
WebsiteGovernment website
Party website

Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (/ˈæŋɡɪr/; Shona pronunciation: [ts͎a.ᵑɡi.ra.i];[need tone] 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013.[1] He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), and a key figure in the opposition to former president Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai was the MDC candidate in the controversial 2002 Zimbawean presidential election, losing to Mugabe. He later contested the first round of the 2008 Zimbawean presidential election as the MDC-T candidate, taking 47.8% of the vote according to official results, placing him ahead of Mugabe, who received 43.2%. Tsvangirai claimed to have won a majority and said that the results could have been altered in the month between the election and the reporting of official results.[2] Tsvangirai initially planned to run in the second round against Mugabe, but withdrew shortly before it was held, arguing that the election would not be free and fair due to widespread violence and intimidation by government supporters that led to the deaths of 200 people.

Tsvangirai sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a car crash on 6 March 2009 when heading towards his rural home in Buhera. His first wife, Susan Tsvangirai, was killed in the head-on collision.[3] As the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état occurred, Tsvangirai asked Mugabe to step down.[4][5] He hoped that an all-inclusive stakeholders' meeting to chart the country's future and an internationally supervised process for the forthcoming elections would create a process that would take the country towards a legitimate regime.[6][7] On 14 February 2018, Tsvangirai died at the age of 65 after reportedly suffering from colorectal cancer.[8]

  1. ^ "Mugabe appoints ZANU-PF lawyer as Zimbabwe finance minister". Reuters. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Zimbabwe opposition challenges election results". USA Today. 2 May 2008. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  3. ^ Pflanz, Mike (7 March 2009). "Fatal Tsvangirai crash 'was not accident', says MDC". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Zimbabwe coup: Robert Mugabe and wife Grace 'insisting he finishes his term', as priest steps in to mediate". The Telegraph. 16 November 2017. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Mugabe 'resisting calls to stand down'". BBC News. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  6. ^ Morgan Tsvangirai Calls For Internationally-Supervised Process For The Forthcoming Elections Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Pindula News, 2017/11/20
  7. ^ Zimbabwe opposition wants inclusive political process after military intervention Archived 25 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, 20 November 2017
  8. ^ "Zimbabwe opposition leader Tsvangirai dies". BBC News. 15 February 2018.