Ian Smith, the last Prime Minister of Rhodesia, whose attempts to resist black rule dragged the country into isolation and civil war, has died, a family friend said. He was 88.

Smith died at a clinic near Cape Town in South Africa, where he spent his final years, Sam Whaley, a family friend, said. He had recently suffered a stroke. “He was a man of grit and courage,” Mr Whaley said. “I am sure that he is happy that he hasn’t had to hold back any more,” he said refering to his final weeks clinging to life.

When Rhodesia was renamed Zimbabwe in 1980, Smith became Leader of the Opposition at the head of the renamed Republican Front. President Mugabe expelled Smith from parliament in 1986 and he retired to his farm in southwestern Zimbabwe.

Bright Matonga, the Zimbabwean Deputy Information Minister said: “He was an unrepentant racist and he won’t be missed. Good riddance.”

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