From jailed militant, to first leader of an independent Zimbabwe, to long-reigning dictator, Robert Mugabe left a lasting mark on the region.
Robert Mugabe, the former political prisoner, first black leader of an independent Zimbabwe, and unrepentant strongman, has died, the nation's current president announced Friday. He was 95.
"Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten. May his soul rest in eternal peace," said Zimbabwe President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa in a tweet announcing the former leader's death.
Long before he became one of Africa's longest serving dictators, Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924 to a family in what was then known as Southern Rhodesia.
A scholarly child, Mugabe was raised as a Roman Catholic, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Fort Hare in 1951. Following graduation, he spent time as a teacher in Rhodesia and traveled to Ghana — where he was inspired by then-Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah's success after the country's independence movement.
After returning to Rhodesia, Mugabe immediately joined a political party that the white minority-led government soon thereafter banned. It swiftly reformed as the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU), which followed the Soviet Union's notion of supporting marginalized urban workers, in 1961
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