Formerly known as Southern Rhodesia, the country was a self-governing British colony from 1923. In 1965 the white minority government of the colony (then called Rhodesia) issued a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) under its Prime Minister, Ian Smith. Despite UN sanctions, illegal independence lasted until 1979, when the Lancaster House Agreement led to all-party elections (1980) and black majority rule under Robert Mugabe. The country then became an independent republic and a member of the Commonwealth. In 2002, following controversial land reforms, Mugabe was returned to power in a presidential election widely regarded as undemocratic: as a result Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth for twelve months, and then chose to withdraw.