Roy Welensky
| Sir Roy Welensky | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 2nd Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland | |
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In office 2 November 1956 – 31 December 1963 |
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| Preceded by | Godfrey Huggins |
| Succeeded by | position abolished |
| Constituency | Broken Hill |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Raphael Welensky 20 January 1907 Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (present-day Harare, Zimbabwe) |
| Died | 5 December 1991 (aged 84) Blandford Forum, Dorset, England, UK |
| Nationality | Rhodesian |
| Political party | United Federal Party |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Occupation | locomotive enginedriver |
| Religion | Anglican |
Sir Roland "Roy" Welensky, KCMG (né Raphael Welensky; 20 January 1907 – 5 December 1991) was a Northern Rhodesian politician and the second and last prime minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
Born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) to an Afrikaner mother and a Lithuanian Jewish father, he moved to Northern Rhodesia, became involved with the trade unions, and entered the colonial legislative council in 1938. There, he campaigned for the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia (the latter under white self-government, the former under the colonial office). Although unsuccessful, he succeeded in the formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, a state within the British Empire that sought to retain predominant power for the white minority while moving in a progressive political direction, in contrast to apartheid South Africa.
Becoming Prime Minister of the Federation in 1957, Welensky opposed British moves towards black majority rule, and used force to suppress politically motivated violence in the territories. After the advent of black rule in two of the Federation's three territories (Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, now Zambia and Malawi respectively), it collapsed in 1963. Welensky retired to Salisbury, where he re-entered politics and attempted to stop Rhodesia (formerly Southern Rhodesia) from unilaterally declaring itself independent. With the end of white rule in 1979, and the independence of Rhodesia as Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe in 1980, Welensky moved to England, where he died in 1991. A fervent admirer of Britain and the Empire, Welensky described himself as "half Jewish, half Afrikaner [and] 100% British".
Welensky was born in Pioneer Street, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. His father, Michael Welensky (b. c. 1843), was of Lithuanian Jewish origin, hailing from a village near Wilno (today Vilnius); a trader in Russia and horse-smuggler during the Franco-Prussian War, he settled in Southern Rhodesia after first emigrating to the United States, where he was a saloon-keeper, and then South Africa. His mother, Leah (born Aletta Ferreira; c. 1865–1918), was a ninth-generation Afrikaner of Dutch ancestry. His parents, for whom Raphael or "Roy" was the 13th child, kept a "poor white" boarding house. Welensky's mother died when he was 11, being treated by Godfrey Huggins, a doctor who was later to become the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. Although not of British ancestry, Welensky was intensely pro-British, a distinctive sentiment among Rhodesians. John Connell, in his foreword to Welensky's book 4000 Days, wrote: "Welensky, who had not a drop of British blood in his veins, shared this pride and loyalty [towards Britain] to the full."
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