Director of Prisons of Rhodesia

Director of Prisons
Coat of arms of Rhodesia
Inaugural holder
Formation	1954; 68 years ago (1954)
Final holder
Abolished	1980; 42 years ago (1980)

The Director of Prisons was the head of the Rhodesia Prison Service, responsible for the administration of prisons in Southern Rhodesia and later Rhodesia. The post was established in 1954 as the head of the of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and became head of the Southern Rhodesia Prison Service upon the Federation's dissolution in 1963. In 1965, upon Rhodesia's independence from the United Kingdom, it became the Rhodesia Prison Service. In 1980, upon Zimbabwe's independence, the office was nullified and replaced by the Director of the .

History[]

Prior to 1954, prisons in Southern Rhodesia were administered by the Southern Rhodesia Prison Department (SRPD).^[1] On 30 November 1954, the of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland passed the Prisons Department Act (49/1954), which incorporated the SRPD into the (FPS), effective 1 December 1954.^[2] This arrangement continued until December 1963, when the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland dissolved and autonomy was returned to the individual colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland, the latter two of which gained independence in 1964 as Zambia and Malawi, respectively. From 1963, the service continued as the Southern Rhodesia Prison Service (SRPS).^[1] In 1965, shortly before Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence from the United Kingdom, the SRPS began using the name Rhodesia Prison Service.^[1]

In 1980, upon Zimbabwe's independence, the RPS was dissolved and superseded by the .

List of directors[]

The follow list of Directors of Prisons includes those from the Southern Rhodesia Prison Service, the Federal Prison Service, and the Rhodesia Prison Service.^[3]

References[]