John Wrathall

John James Wrathall ( born August 28, 1913 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England; † August 31, 1978 in Salisbury, Rhodesia ) was a Rhodesian politician.

Biography

Wrathall emigrated to Rhodesia in 1936 and was initially to 1946 employees of the Tax Administration of Southern Rhodesia. Then he opened a tax and accounting office in Bulawayo. He began his political career in 1949 as the first member of the City Council of Bulawayo and then in 1954 as a member of the United Rhodesia Party ( URP ) with the election of deputies of the Legislative Assembly ( Legislative Assembly ) of Southern Rhodesia. In 1962, he was next to Ian Smith of the founders of the Rhodesian Front ( Rhodesian Front Party ).

When Smith 1964 first Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia, this appointed him as Minister of Finance in the cabinet. In this office he was instrumental in protecting the country's economy to circumvent United Nations sanctions against Rhodesia. At the same time he was Postmaster General and was also from 1963 to 1964 Minister of African Education.

On November 11, 1965, he was one of the signatories of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom. He then took over, aside from the financial and postal Minister also the Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Smith. In a cabinet reshuffle in 1973 he gave the office of Postmaster-General to Roger Hawkins from.

On 14 January 1976 he was the successor to the retired on 31 December 1975 Clifford Dupont President of Rhodesia and took over on the same day this office by Acting President ( Acting President ) Henry Everard. On 31 August 1978 he died during his tenure.