Zimbabwe
/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/, /zɪmˈbɑːbwi/
/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/, /zɪmˈbɑːbwi/
- a country in southern Africa which used to be called Rhodesia, and before that Southern Rhodesia. The capital city is Harare and the official language is English. It was part of the British Empire and became independent and a member of the Commonwealth in 1980. From 1964 until it became independent, Zimbabwe was ruled by a white minority government led by Ian Smith, who announced a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Britain. After many discussions with the British government, the country became fully independent, with a black majority government led by Robert Mugabe. In 2002 Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth and this led to a decision by Robert Mugabe to leave the Commonwealth in 2003. Mugabe resigned as President in 2017 after his party sacked him as leader.