Zimbabwean politician and trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai is born

Date: 10 Mar 1952
Updated: 5 Mar 2020

Morgan Richard Tsvangirai was born in the Bahure area of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He is the eldest of nine children. Tsavangirai joined the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which later became ZANU-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and was a strong supporter of then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai later grew to oppose Mugabe’s policies and broke away from ZANU-PF to form his own party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The MDC became the main opposition to Mugabe’s regime. In 2009, he formed a power-sharing government with Mugabe and became Prime Minister. In the 2013 elections, Tsvangirai lost to Mugabe and the office of prime minister was abolished through an amendment to the constitution. He passed away on 14 February 2018 due to colon cancer.

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?

How we know this

01Britannica, Morgan Tsvangirai, from Britannica Encyclopaedia, [online], Available at global.britannica.com [Accessed: 27 February 2014]
02Africa Confidential, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, from Africa Confidential, [online], Available at www.africa-confidential.com [Accessed: 27 February 2014]

Last updated · 5 Mar 2020

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2014, March 6). Zimbabwean politician and trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai is born. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097175

South African History Online (2014) 'Zimbabwean politician and trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai is born', South African History Online, 6 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097175 (Accessed: 25 July 2026).

South African History Online, Zimbabwean politician and trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai is born [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097175, (accessed 25 July 2026).

"Zimbabwean politician and trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai is born." South African History Online, 6 Mar. 2014, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097175. Accessed 25 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Zimbabwean politician and trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai is born." South African History Online. March 6, 2014. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097175.