Embassy of Zimbabwe, London facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Embassy of Zimbabwe in London |
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| Location | Covent Garden, London |
| Address | 429 Strand, London, WC2R 0JR |
| Coordinates | 51°30′35″N 0°07′26″W / 51.5096°N 0.1240°W |
| Ambassador | Gabriel Mharadze Machinga |
The Embassy of Zimbabwe in London is the diplomatic mission of Zimbabwe in the United Kingdom. It is located in Zimbabwe House, a Grade II* listed building at 429 Strand in central London. It was previously a high commission and became an embassy after Zimbabwe's departure from the Commonwealth on 7 December 2003 in protest of international criticism of Robert Mugabe's regime's human rights record and its policies.
History
Architecture and sculptures
The building was designed by architect Charles Holden in 1907–08 as the headquarters of the British Medical Association and featured a series of sculptures by Jacob Epstein representing the development of science and the Ages of Man, his first major commission in London.
Rhodesian High Commission
As Rhodesia House it housed the High Commission of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 until Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965. Rhodesia was unique in being the only British colony to have a High Commission, as only dominions (and later, independent Commonwealth members) were represented by such legations. During the period of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1953, Rhodesia House was home to the High Commissioner for the Federation. With the end of the Federation in 1963, Rhodesia House returned as home of the representative of Southern Rhodesia.
After the UDI, Rhodesia's High Commissioner, Brigadier Andrew Skeen departed on 12 November 1965 before being declared persona non-grata by the British Government and ordered to leave the country. However, because of concerns over diplomatic property under international law, Rhodesia House was not seized by the British Government. It simply became a Representative Office with no official diplomatic status, until the country became Zimbabwe in 1980.
Zimbabwe
The embassy is frequently the focus of protests against the Zimbabwean government, especially the former regime of President Robert Mugabe.
The South African Business Day newspaper reported in 2002 that the deeds of the building had been given to the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as surety for oil supplied to Zimbabwe by the Libyan state oil company Tamoil.
