Howard Unwin Moffat served as second premier of Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...

, from 1927 to 1933. Born in the Kuruman

Kuruman

Kuruman is a town with 12,701 inhabitants in Northern Cape province of South Africa, famous for its scenic beauty and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature bringing water from deep underground to the surface in the Kalahari Desert....

 mission station in Bechuanaland (now in Northern Cape

Northern Cape

The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...

), Moffat was the son of the missionary John Smith Moffat

John Smith Moffat

Reverend John Smith Moffat was a British missionary and imperial agent in southern Africa, the son of missionary Robert Moffat and brother-in-law of missionary explorer David Livingstone....

 and grandson of the missionary Robert Moffat

Robert Moffat

Robert Moffat was a Scottish Congregationalist missionary to Africa, and father in law of David Livingstone....

, who was the friend of King Mzilikazi

Mzilikazi

Mzilikazi , also sometimes called Mosilikatze, was a Southern African king who founded the Matabele kingdom , Matabeleland, in what became Rhodesia and is now Zimbabwe. He was born the son of Matshobana near Mkuze, Zululand and died at Ingama, Matabeleland...

 and the father-in-law of David Livingstone

David Livingstone

David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...

. After service in the Bechuanaland Border Police, Moffat moved to Bulawayo and served in the 1893 Matabele War

First Matabele War

The First Matabele War was fought in 1893-1894 between the British South Africa Company military forces and the Ndebele people. Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, avoided outright war with the British settlers because he and his advisors were mindful of the destructive power of the European weapons...

 and the Anglo-Boer War

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1923 as member for Victoria

Masvingo

Masvingo is a town in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The town is close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name.- History :...

 and served as minister for mines & works under Charles Coghlan

Charles Patrick John Coghlan

Sir Charles Patrick John Coghlan was the first Premier of Southern Rhodesia and held office from October 1, 1923 until his death on August 28, 1927....

. He succeeded as premier after Coghlan's death in 1927 (his title was later changed to Prime Minister).

Moffat was viewed as a conservative, who believed that Rhodesia would eventually join the Union of South Africa. He oversaw the purchase, for £2 million, of the British South Africa Company

British South Africa Company

The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...

's remaining mineral rights in Southern Rhodesia. His government passed the 1930 Land Apportionment Act, which defined the pattern of land allocation and ownership and is viewed as being one of the ultimate causes of the land disputes

Land reform in Zimbabwe

Land reform in Zimbabwe officially began in 1979 with the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement, an effort to more equitably distribute land between the historically disenfranchised blacks and the minority-whites who ruled Zimbabwe from 1890 to 1979...

 in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 from 2000. He resigned in 1933 and was succeeded by George Mitchell

George Mitchell (Rhodesia)

George Mitchell served as Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from July to September 1933. Born in the United Kingdom, he emigrated to South Africa in 1889, and moved to Matabeleland six years later to work as the manager of the Bank of Africa branch in Bulawayo...

; in the 1933 general election

Southern Rhodesia general election, 1933

The Southern Rhodesia general election of September 6, 1933 was the third election since the colony of Southern Rhodesia was granted self-government. It is notable as one of only two general elections in Southern Rhodesia which led to a defeat for the sitting government, as the Reform Party won a...

 he lost his seat.

In the 1939 general election

Southern Rhodesia general election, 1939

The Southern Rhodesia general election of April 14, 1939 was the fifth election since the colony of Southern Rhodesia was granted self-government. Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins' United Party government were re-elected in a landslide...

Moffat attempted to restart the Rhodesia Party but this met with failure.