A double referendum was held in Rhodesia on 20 June 1969, in which voters were asked whether they were in favour of or against a) the adoption of a republican form of government, and b) the proposals for a new Constitution, as set out in a white paper and published in a Gazette Extraordinary on 21 May 1969. Both proposals were approved.Final Break, TIME, June 27, 1969 The country was subsequently declared a republic on 2 March 1970.
Background
Position of monarchy after UDI On 11 November 1965, the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) although it continued to recognise the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of state, with oaths of allegiance to "Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth, Queen of Rhodesia, her heirs and successors".International Law Reports, Volume 52, E. Lauterpacht, Cambridge University Press, 1979, page 53
However, the Rhodesian Front government of Prime Minister Ian Smith ceased to recognise the authority of her de jure representative, the Governor Sir Humphrey Gibbs.Ian Smith Strips Gibbs Of All Official Privilege, Associated Press, The Morning Record, November 18, 1965 Instead, on 17 November, it appointed former Deputy Prime Minister Clifford Dupont to the post of "Acting Officer Administering the Government".East Africa and Rhodesia, Volume 42, Africana, 1965, pages 339, 464
On 2 December, Smith wrote a personal letter to the Queen, asking her to accept Dupont as the new Governor-General.The New Law Journal, Volume 127, Butterworth, 1978, page 529 In response, he was told that "Her Majesty is not able to entertain purported advice of this kind, and has therefore been pleased to direct that no action shall be taken upon it".Commonwealth Survey, Central Office of Information, 1965, page 1281
Under the 1965 draft Constitution, if the Queen did not appoint a Governor-General within fourteen days of advice being tendered by the Prime Minister, a Regent was to be appointed.The Constitution of Rhodesia, 1965, Government Printer, 1965, page 7
In deference to the British royal family, however, on 16 December, Smith amended his original plan and Dupont was appointed as Officer Administering the Government.Rhodesia and the United Nations: UN Imposition of Mandatory Sanctions 1966, Avrahm G. Mezerik, International Review Service, 1966, pages 39-40 He would continue to use the title until the declaration of a republic in 1970.Rhodesian Commentary, Volumes 3-5, 1970, page 72
Consequently, legislation passed after UDI was "enacted by His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government, as the representative of the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Rhodesia".Annual Survey of African Law Cb: Volume Three : 1969, editors E. Cotran, N.N. Rubin, Routledge, 1973, page 171
Similarly, Dupont would deliver the speech from the throne before the Legislative Assembly, and sign bills into law.United Nations. General Assembly. Special Committee on the Situation With Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, United Nations, 1967, page 123-124 Opponents of UDI who considered it an illegal move, such as the Independent member of the Legislative Assembly Ahrn Palley, refused to recognise Dupont's office, and walked out of the opening of Parliament in protest.Africa Report, Volumes 11-12, African-American Institute, 1966, page 44
While Gibbs continued to occupy Government House, Dupont and his wife held official receptions at Governor's Lodge in the Salisbury suburb of Highlands. In 1967, on the second anniversary of UDI, Gibbs declared that his visitors' book would be open to all those who wished to show their loyalty to the Queen, while Dupont, in response, announced that the visitors' book at his office, on the same street, would be open to all those who wished to show their support for UDI.Power and Pragmatism: The memoirs of Malcolm Rifkind, Malcolm Rifkind, Biteback Publishing, 2016
Neither the Queen nor the British government recognised Dupont as her representative, and while she issued reprieves for two African men sentenced to be hanged in 1968, the Smith government did not accede to her clemency order.Rhodesian Government Hangs Two More Despite Protests, Associated Press, Gadsden Times, March 11, 1968
Calls for republic Calls for Rhodesia to declare itself a republic began as early as July 1966, when a joint committee of the Rhodesian Front caucus and local party chairmen put forward proposals to sever links with the British monarchy and adopt a republican constitution.Spotlight on Africa, Volumes 1-2, 1966 Later that year, at a formal ball to celebrate the first anniversary of UDI, there were cries of "republic, republic" among those attending.White Rhodesians Salute Independence Anniversary, Canadian Press, Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, November 11, 1966
As a result of the increasing ambiguity of the Queen's constitutional position, the Rhodesian government believed that only by becoming a republic would Rhodesia be able to improve trade and gain international recognition.BBC ON THIS DAY | 2 | 1970: Ian Smith declares Rhodesia a republic, BBC News Following the unsuccessful talks with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson aboard in 1968, Smith predicted that Rhodesia would become a republic "irrespective of the outcome of the dialogue with Britain".Anatomy of a Rebel: Smith of Rhodesia: a Biography, Peter Joyce, Graham Publishing, 1974, page 412
Later that year, a Constitutional Commission was appointed, in which one witness argued that "the Queen in her capacity as Queen of Rhodesia is the political prisoner of the British Government".Report of the Constitutional Commission, Government Printer, 1968, page 119 One of the most eager advocates of republic status was Minister of Internal Affairs Lance Smith, who, on 30 May 1969, denounced the Queen as a "figurehead and mouthpiece of whatever government is in power in England."Who's who in Africa: The Political, Military and Business Leaders of Africa, John Dickie, Alan Rake, African Development, 1973, page 382
Writing in his memoir, Smith described republic status as "one of the more controversial proposals", and "no easy decision for many of us who from birth had been ingrained with the British Empire", but it had "become increasingly difficult for us to separate monarch and Empire from the deviousness of the [British] politicians."Bitter Harvest, Ian Douglas Smith, Blake, 2001, page 152
New Constitution In addition, the Smith government sought to strengthen the position of white minority through the adoption of a new constitution, which would replace the two existing non-racial electoral rolls, determined by property qualifications, with separate rolls for white and African voters.
Under the new constitution, white voters would elect 50 members to the House of Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, while African voters would only elect 8, with an additional 8 seats being indirectly elected to represent chiefs and tribal interests.U.D.I: The International Politics of the Rhodesian Rebellion, Robert C. Good, Princeton University Press, 2015, page 304 The Senate, the indirectly elected new upper house, was to be composed of 23 Senators, of whom 10 were to be elected by white Members of the House of Assembly, 10 were African chiefs, half from Mashonaland and half from Matabeleland, chosen by an electoral college composed of members of the Council of Chiefs, and three appointed by the President.International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law, Viktor Knapp, International Association of Legal Science, JCB Mohr and Mouton, 1976, page xx
Results Those eligible to vote were allowed to do so not only in their constituencies but in five regional constituencies (known as multiple polling stations) in which they could vote away from their homes, based around Bulawayo, Fort Victoria, Gwelo and Salisbury, with 5220 votes being cast in this way.The Rhodesian Referendum: June 20th, 1969, P. B. Harris, Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 23, Issue 1969, 1 September 1969, Pages 72–80
Adoption of a republican form of government ChoiceVotes%For61,13081.01Against14,32718.99Invalid/blank votes1,207–Total76,664100Registered voters/turnout94,68680.97Source: Direct Democracy
Proposals for new Constitution ChoiceVotes%For54,72472.48Against20,77627.52Invalid/blank votes1,206–Total76,706100Registered voters/turnout94,68681.01Source: Direct Democracy
Adoption of new constitution Declaration of republic A Bill to implement the new constitutional proposals was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 17 November, and was signed into law by Dupont on 27 November.Bulletin, Volume 15, Africa Institute, 1977, page 14 Dupont's last duty as Officer Administrating the Government was to sign the proclamation of a republic on 2 March 1970.The Spectator, Volume 224, F.C. Westley, 1970, page 300
Following the declaration of the republic, Smith commented that "when we asked the Queen to accept us as an independent state, British politicians told her to answer "no" and we became a de facto republic... all that has happened now is that we have become a de jure republic".Rhodesia Challenges African Dignity, Says Cameroon Leader, The Afro American, March 14, 1970 Dupont was sworn in as the first President under the new republican constitution, following its adoption in April 1970.Clifford Dupont, First President of Rhodesia, Dies, The Washington Post, June 29, 1978
When asked by an American journalist whether 2 March would be Rhodesia's "Fourth of July", he replied: "No... today isn't such a tremendous day. We made our decision to become republic quite a long time ago and we are merely going through a process of formalisation. Independence Day is our great day – the day of that unique breakaway from Britain."Rhodesia's First Day As a Republic Passes Quietly, The New York Times, March 3, 1970, page 2 Instead, the third Monday in October was chosen as Republic Day, a public holiday.Rhodesia's Quiet Republic Day, Glasgow Herald, October 20, 1970, page 13 Although the Queen's Official Birthday had been retained as a public holiday following UDI, Commonwealth Day was dropped and replaced by Independence Day.Daily Report, Foreign Radio Broadcasts, Issues 61-65, United States, Central Intelligence Agency, 3 April 1967
Legal and heraldic changes In the legal system, references to "the Crown" were replaced by those to "the State", and senior advocates would no longer be appointed as Queen's Counsel but would be designated as Senior Counsel.Annual Survey of African Law, Rex Collings, 1970, page 185 Despite this, existing Queen's Counsel were not affected.Rhodesian Commentary, Volumes 3-5, Ministry of Information, Immigration and Tourism, 1969, page 21
Despite not wishing to give legitimacy to the declaration of republican status, the Queen, on the advice of the British government, approved the suspension of the grant of the title "Royal" to the Royal Rhodesia Regiment and the Royal Rhodesian Air Force, and the suspension of her own appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Rhodesia Regiment, as well as that of The Queen Mother, as Honorary Commissioner of the British South Africa Police (BSAP); in addition, The Queen Mother was persuaded to relinquish her position as Chancellor of University College, Salisbury.Monarchy and the End of Empire: The House of Windsor, the British Government, and the Postwar Commonwealth, Philip Murphy, OUP Oxford, 2013, page 105-106