Adriaan Hilbers
Washington International School
When Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) fought for independence in its famous 1980 war, Robert Mugabe emerged as a hero. Having led the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) through a hard but successful struggle to gain independence for Zimbabwe, he was made the first prime minister, staying in this post for seven years and then running for president, winning the elections, in part, due to his image as a war hero. Since 1987, Robert Mugabe has led the nation, but his time in power has made Zimbabwe one of the poorest countries in the world, and Mugabe is considered by many to be dictator.
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