Robert Gabriel Mugabe Mugabe, Robert Gabriel (mōgäˈbē, -bā)
[key], 1924–, president of Zimbabwe (1987–). A founder of the
Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in 1963 and a guerrilla
leader, Mugabe jointly negotiated independence in 1979 with
Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). When
Mugabe's ZANU won a majority in 1980, he became prime minister
and chose reconciliation, including Nkomo and whites in his
cabinet, but by 1982 he had broken with Nkomo and brutally
turned on his supporters. After Mugabe was elected president in
1987, a ZANU-ZAPU merger was negotiated (1988), returning Nkomo
to the government but leaving Mugabe supreme. Reelected in 1990
and 1996, Mugabe was forced to abandon his commitment to a one-
party Marxist state by 1991, but he nonetheless consolidated
power, virtually eliminating opposition, and his regime became
increasingly autocratic. Mugabe was an aggressive supporter of
sanctions against South Africa and aided the African National
Congress before the lifting of ap