Josiah Zion Gumede
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The Honourable Josiah Zion Gumede OLG MBE |
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Josiah Zion Gumede
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| 1st President of Zimbabwe Rhodesia | |
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In office 1 June 1979 – 12 December 1979 |
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| Prime Minister | Abel Muzorewa |
| Preceded by | Henry Everard |
| Succeeded by | Canaan Banana |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 September 1919 Bembesi, Southern Rhodesia |
| Died | 28 March 1989 (aged 69) Zimbabwe |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Spouse(s) | Esther Gumede |
| Children | Ndabiqondile Mandla Gumede, Titus Tofi Gumede, Nkosinathi Boxie Gumede, Bekinkosi Sofaigiya Nyamie Gumede |
| Residence | Bulawayo, Manxeleni |
| Occupation | School teacher, Politician, Diplomat |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Josiah Zion Gumede, OLG (19 September 1919 – 28 March 1989) was the only president of the self-proclaimed, and internationally unrecognised, state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia during 1979, before Rhodesia briefly reverted to British rule until the country's independence as Zimbabwe in 1980. He died in 1989.
Josiah Gumede was born in Bembesi, in the Bubi District (now in Matabeleland North) of Southern Rhodesia. He was educated at the David Livingstone Memorial Mission and Matopo Mission before matriculating in the Cape Province (South Africa) in 1946. He taught at various mission and government schools and ended his teaching career as a headmaster. He was the assistant information and education attache for the Government of Rhodesia and Nyasaland at Rhodesia House in London between 1960 and 1962. He then joined the Ministry of External Affairs (1963–1965).
He was at one time general secretary for the then African Teachers' Association of Rhodesia; a member of the Wankie Disaster Relief Fund's Board of Trustees; a director of the Tribal Trust Land Development Corporation; and a board member of the National Free Library of Rhodesia. He was also an ordained elder of the Presbyterian Church of South Africa.
Gumede is the grandfather of British television actress, Natalie Gumede.
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