Robert Mugabe

==Personal life==
[[File:Президент России Владимир Путин с Президентом Зимбабве Робертом Мугабе 3.jpg|thumb|Mugabe meeting Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]] in 2015]]

Mugabe measured a little over {{convert|1.70|m}},{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=25}} and exhibited what his biographer David Blair described as "curious, effeminate mannerisms".{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=25}} Mugabe took great care with his appearance, typically wearing a three-piece suit,{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=25}} and insisted that members of his cabinet dressed in a similar Anglophile fashion.{{sfn|Holland|2008|pp=109–110}} On taking power in 1980, Mugabe's hallmark was his wide-rimmed glasses,{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=14}} and he was also known for his [[toothbrush moustache|tiny moustache]].{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=25}} Unlike a number of other African leaders, Mugabe did not seek to mythologise his childhood.{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=17}} He avoided smoking and drinking,{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=23}} and—according to his first biographers, David Smith and Colin Simpson—had "enormous affection for children".{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1981|p=48}} During his early life he had an operation on his genitals which generated rumours that he had only one testicle or half a penis; such rumours were used by opponents to ridicule him and by supporters to bolster the claim that he was willing to make severe sacrifices for the revolutionary cause.{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=174}}

Mugabe spoke English fluently with an adopted English accent when pronouncing certain words.{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=25}} He was also a fan of the English game of [[cricket]], stating that "cricket civilizes people and creates good gentlemen".{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=25}} David Blair noted that this cultivation of British traits suggested that Mugabe respected and perhaps admired Britain while at the same time resenting and loathing the country.{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=26}} [[Heidi Holland]] suggested that these Anglophile traits arose in early life, as Mugabe—who had long experienced the anti-black racism of Rhodesian society—"grasped Englishness as an antidote" to the "self-loathing" induced by societal racism.{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=211}}

The academic Blessing-Miles Tendi stated that Mugabe was "an extremely complex figure, not easily captured by conventional categories".{{sfn|Tendi|2011|pp=307–308}} Similarly, David Blair described him as an "exceptionally complex personality".{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=26}} Smith and Simpson noted that the Zimbabwean leader had been "a serious young man, something of a loner, diligent, hard-working, a voracious reader who used every minute of his time, not much given to laughter: but above all, single-minded".{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1981|pp=15–16}} Blair commented that Mugabe's "self-discipline, intelligence and appetite for hard work were remarkable",{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=25}} adding that his "prime characteristics" were "ruthlessness and resilience".{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=24}} Blair argued that Mugabe shared many character traits with Ian Smith, stating that they were both "proud, brave, stubborn, charismatic, deluded fantasists".{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=244}}

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=left|quote=With his poor childhood development record, even minor criticism would be experienced as a wound by Mugabe. He is a person who cannot tolerate difference. Being profoundly doubtful about himself, he is oversensitive to the idea that he is not as good as everyone else. People are either with him or against him. Differences of opinion are provocative and hurtful to Mugabe, who may think that compromise reduces him.| salign=left |source=— Heidi Holland{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=52}} }}

Meredith described Mugabe as having a "soft-spoken demeanour,&nbsp;... broad intellect, and&nbsp;... articulate manner", all of which disguised his "hardened and single-minded ambition".{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=37}} Ndlovu-Gatsheni characterised him as "one of the most charismatic African leaders", highlighting that he was "very eloquent" and was able to make "fine speeches".{{sfn|Ndlovu-Gatsheni|2009|p=1142}} [[Jonathan Moyo]], who briefly served as Mugabe's information minister before falling out with him, stated that the President could "express himself well, that is his great strength".{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=183}}
Tendi stated that Mugabe had a natural wittiness, but often hid this behind "an outwardly pensive and austere manner and his penchant for ceremony and tradition".{{sfn|Tendi|2013|pp=964–965}} Heidi Holland suggested that due to his "dysfunctional" upbringing, Mugabe had a "fragile self-image",{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=51}} describing him as "a man cut off from his feelings, devoid of ordinary warmth and humanity".{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=67}} According to her, Mugabe had a "marked emotional immaturity",{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=84}} and was homophobic,{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=95}} as well as racist and xenophobic.{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=83}}

According to Meredith, Mugabe presented himself as "articulate, thoughtful, and conciliatory" after his 1980 election victory.{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=14}} Blair noted that at this period of his career, Mugabe displayed "genuine magnanimity and moral courage" despite his "intense personal reasons for feeling bitterness and hatred" toward the members of the former regime.{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=17}} Following his dealing with Mugabe during the 1979 negotiations, Michael Pallister, head of the [[British Foreign Office]], described Mugabe as having "a very sharp, sometimes rather aggressive, and unpleasant manner".{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=7}} The British diplomat Peter Longworth stated that in private, Mugabe was "very charming and very articulate and he's not devoid of humour. It's very difficult to relate the man you meet with the man ranting on television".{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=25}} Norman stated that "I always found him personable and honourable in his dealings. He also had a warm side to him which I saw quite clearly sometimes".{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=119}}

[[Colin Legum]], a journalist with ''[[The Observer]]'', argued that Mugabe had a "paranoidal personality", in that while he did not suffer from clinical paranoia, he did behave in a paranoid fashion when placed under severe and sustained pressure.{{sfn|Blair|2002|p=26}} Mugabe biographer Andrew Norman suggested that the leader may have suffered from [[antisocial personality disorder]].{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=163}} Several Mugabe biographers have observed that he had an obsession with accruing power.{{sfnm|1a1=Blair|1y=2002|1p=25|2a1=Meredith|2y=2002|2p=16}} According to Meredith, "power for Mugabe was not a means to an end, but the end itself."{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=233}} Conversely, Onslow and Redding suggested that Mugabe's craving for power stemmed from "ideological and personal reasons" and his belief in the illegitimacy of his political opposition.{{sfn|Onslow|Redding|2009|p=69}} [[Denis Norman]], a white politician who served in Mugabe's cabinet for many years, commented that "Mugabe isn't a flashy man driven by wealth but he does enjoy power. That's always been his motivation".{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=125}}

===Marriages and children===
[[File:Sally Hayfron.jpg|thumb|upright|Mugabe's first wife, [[Sally Mugabe|Sally Hayfron]], in 1983]]{{See also|Mugabe family}}
According to Holland, Mugabe's first wife, [[Sally Mugabe|Sally Hayfron]], was Mugabe's "confidante and only real friend",{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=25}} being "one of the few people who could challenge Mugabe's ideas without offending him".{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=21}} Their only son, Michael Nhamodzenyika Mugabe, born 27 September 1963, died on 26 December 1966 from cerebral [[malaria]] in Ghana where Sally was working while Mugabe was in prison. Sally Mugabe was a trained teacher who asserted her position as an independent political activist and campaigner.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/nov/01/past.politics |title=FO's fight over Mugabe's wife |work=The Guardian |date=1 November 2005 |access-date=14 June 2009 |first=Owen |last=Bowcott |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829194743/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/nov/01/past.politics |archive-date=29 August 2013 }}</ref>

Mugabe called on Zimbabwe's media to refer to his wife as "Amai" ("Mother of the Nation"),{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=96}} although many Zimbabweans resented the fact that she was a foreigner.{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=23}} She was appointed as the head of ZANU–PF's women's league,{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=96}} and was involved in a number of charitable operations, and was widely regarded as corrupt in these dealings.{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=24}} During Mugabe's premiership she suffered from renal failure, and initially had to travel to Britain for [[Kidney dialysis|dialysis]] until Soames arranged for a dialysis machine to be sent to Zimbabwe.{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=76}}

While married to Hayfron, in 1987 Mugabe began an extra-marital affair with his secretary, [[Grace Mugabe|Grace Marufu]]; she was 41 years his junior and at the time was married to [[Stanley Goreraza]]. In 1988 she bore Mugabe a daughter, Bona, and in 1990 a son, Robert.{{sfnm|1a1=Meredith|1y=2002|1p=96|2a1=Norman|2y=2008|2p=80}} The relationship was kept secret from the Zimbabwean public; Hayfron was aware of it.{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=96}} According to her niece Patricia Bekele, with whom she was particularly close, Hayfron was not happy that Mugabe had an affair with Marufu but "she did what she used to tell me to do: 'Talk to your pillow if you have problems in your marriage. Never, ever, humiliate your husband.' Her motto was to carry on in gracious style".{{sfn|Holland|2008|p=22}} Hayfron died in 1992 from a chronic kidney ailment.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7DA1331F93BA15752C0A964958260 |title=The New York Times, "Obituaries: Sally Mugabe, Zimbabwe President's Wife, 60", 28 January 1992 |work=The New York Times |date=28 January 1992 |access-date=5 September 2010}}</ref>

Following Hayfron's death in 1992, Mugabe and Marufu were married in a large Catholic ceremony in August 1996.{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=108}} As [[First Lady of Zimbabwe]], Grace gained a reputation for indulging her love of luxury, with a particular interest in shopping, clothes, and jewellery.{{sfn|Meredith|2002|pp=108–109}} These lavish shopping sprees led to her receiving the nickname "[[Gucci]] Grace".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nehandaradio.com/2014/11/16/gucci-grace-mugabe-worlds-first-female-dictator/ |title=Is 'Gucci' Grace Mugabe about to be the world's first female dictator? |work=Nehanda Radio |date=16 November 2014 |access-date=28 February 2015 |first=Ian |last=Birrell |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402214602/http://nehandaradio.com/2014/11/16/gucci-grace-mugabe-worlds-first-female-dictator/ |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> She too developed a reputation for corruption.{{sfn|Meredith|2002|p=109}} In 1997, [[Grace Mugabe]] gave birth to the couple's third child, [[Chatunga Bellarmine]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/744174.stm|title=Mugabe: Freedom fighter turned autocrat|work=BBC News|last=Winter|first=Joseph|access-date=1 July 2008|date=10 May 2000|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123095912/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/744174.stm|archive-date=23 January 2009}}</ref> [[Robert Mugabe Jr.]] and his younger brother, Chatunga, are known for posting their lavish lifestyle on social media, which drew accusations from opposition politician [[Tendai Biti]] that they were wasting Zimbabwean taxpayers' money.<ref name="veconomist">{{cite news|title=The offspring of Africa's strongmen are living it up|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21726097-scions-despots-post-pictures-their-lavish-lifestyles-social-media|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=10 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017145651/https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21726097-scions-despots-post-pictures-their-lavish-lifestyles-social-media|archive-date=17 October 2017}}</ref>