Alec Smith, the rebellious son of the former prime minister of white-ruled Rhodesia, died of a heart attack at London’s Heathrow airport, family friends said on Sunday. He was 57.
Smith suffered the attack at the airport on Thursday as he headed home to Zimbabwe. He had been visiting the family of his Norwegian-born wife in Oslo.
Smith’s turbulent relationship with his father, Ian Smith, left him ostracised by many whites in Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known under British rule. He was also stigmatised by the black majority as the son of the last white ruler who resisted calls for independence and severed ties with Britain in 1965.
Alec Smith was Ian Smith’s only child with wife Janet Smith, who died of cancer in 1994. He grew up with his mother’s two children from a previous marriage.
After independence in 1980, he became a reserve chaplain for the new Zimbabwe army. In his book Now I Call Him Brother, he reflected on the role of Christian values in promoting reconciliation with the nation’s black majority after a bitter bush war.
Admired for his compassion and quiet resolve, Smith volunteered for charities, administered a black soccer team and organised training for young black players.
He reconciled with his father, often helping him manage a family farm in western Zimbabwe and compile his memoirs. At 85, Ian Smith is increasingly frail and has been in care in neighbouring South Africa in recent months.
A cremation service is planned in Norway, followed by a memorial service in the Zimbabwe capital, Harare. The dates have not been announced.
Alec Smith is survived by his wife Elizabeth, two daughters and a son. — Sapa-AP