grace ntombizodwa mugabe (; born 23 july 1965) is an entrepreneur, politician and the wife of former zimbabwean president robert mugabe. she was the first lady of zimbabwe from 1996 until her husband's resignation in november 2017, a week after he was removed from power. starting as a secretary to president mugabe, she then became the head of the zanu–pf women's league and an important person in the generation 40 faction (group). she was expelled from the party, together with other g40 members, during the 2017 zimbabwean coup d'état.