Tony Gara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deputy Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development | |
| In office 1995–2000 | |
| President | Robert Mugabe |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 1990–2000 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Succeeded by | Tichaona Munyanyi |
| Constituency | Mbare East |
| Mayor of Harare | |
| In office 29 July 1985 – 1986 | |
| Deputy | Solomon Tawengwa |
| Preceded by | Oliver Chidawu |
| Succeeded by | Solomon Tawengwa |
| Deputy Mayor of Harare | |
| In office 1984–1985 | |
| Succeeded by | Solomon Tawengwa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 April 1939 Gatooma, Southern Rhodesia (now Kadoma, Zimbabwe) |
| Died | 14 November 2006 (aged 67) Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Political party | ZANU–PF |
| Children | 7 |
| Residence(s) | Mount Pleasant, Harare |
Oriah Anthony Gara (17 April 1939 – 14 November 2006) was a Zimbabwean businessman and politician. He was a member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for Mbare East from 1990 to 2000 and served as deputy minister of local government, rural and urban development from 1995 until 2000. Before entering Parliament, he was a member of the Harare City Council and served as mayor of Harare from 1985 to 1986.
Born in Gatooma, Gara worked as an accountant for companies in Southern Rhodesia and Malawi. He returned to Rhodesia in 1975 to become chief executive officer of Negondo Industries, a chemical and cosmetics manufacturing company. Having joined the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in Malawi, he held a series of leadership positions within the party in Rhodesia and later Zimbabwe, eventually serving as the ZANU–PF chairman for Harare Province.
In 1979, Gara was elected to the city council in Salisbury (renamed Harare in 1982), becoming its first black member. He served as deputy mayor from 1984 to 1985, and was then elected mayor, serving for one year. In 1990, he was elected to Parliament and made news for a controversial statement he made comparing President Robert Mugabe to Jesus Christ. He was reelected in 1995 and named deputy minister of local government and national housing in Mugabe's cabinet, but lost reelection in 2000 to the candidate of the newly-formed Movement for Democratic Change. He died of cancer six years later.