Rhodesian Front

The Rhodesian Front (RF) was a right-wing, conservative political party in Southern Rhodesia, subsequently known as Rhodesia. It was the last ruling party of Southern Rhodesia prior to the country's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), and the ruling party of Rhodesia from 1965 until 1979. Led first by Winston Field, and, from 1964, by Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Front was the successor to the Dominion Party, which was the main opposition party in Southern Rhodesia when the territory was a part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The RF was formed in March 1962 by conservative white Rhodesians who opposed decolonisation and majority rule. It carried the general election in Southern Rhodesia that December, and remained in power until 1979. History and ideology The RF had fifteen founding principles, which included the preservation of each racial group's right to maintain its own identity, the preservation of "proper standards" through a policy of advancement through merit, the maintenance of the Land Apportionment Act, which formalised the racial imbalance in the ownership and distribution of land, opposition to compulsory racial integration, job protection for white workers, and the practice of Christianity. Historians have generally defined the party as conservative and wanting to maintain white Rhodesian interests by staunchly opposing majority rule, which the RF argued (citing other post-colonial African nations as examples) would lead to a collapse in economic development, law and order, and the emergence of a communist regime in Rhodesia. The party also encouraged the emigration of whites from other African former colonies to Rhodesia. In contrast to the ideology of the South African National Party, the RF allowed for democratic opposition and did not advocate social apartheid (under the RF, marriage, relationships and intermingling between whites and non-white persons was possible and legal, albeit uncommon). Black Rhodesians were allowed to vote for candidates on separate and smaller electoral rolls in parliamentary elections following the UDI. However, the RF wanted to continue the maintenance of the government's right to provide separate amenities for different races, such as education and public sector resources, and maintained an all-white membership, which resulted in it facing accusations of racism from both within Rhodesia and abroad.