Josh Latimer

From Daily Escape

The Rt. Hon. Josh Latimer
Prime Minister of Rhodesia
In office June 25, 2000 — present
Political party	Liberty Party
Preceded by	Morgan Tsvangirai
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	September 19, 1951 Salisbury, Rhodesia
Spouse	Eunice Latimer (née Villanueva)
Profession	Politician, economist, Air Force pilot (ret.)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Languages	English, Shona, Sindebele, Tagalog
Degrees	• Master of Science in Economics (University of Mandragora) • Bachelor of Arts in African History (University of Rhodesia)
Honors	• Legion of Merit (G.C.L.M.) • Independence Commemorative Decoration (I.C.D.)
Military decorations	• General Service Medal • Bronze Cross of Rhodesia

The Right Honourable Joshua Paul Latimer GCLM ICD GSM BCR (born September 19, 1951) is the current Prime Minister of the Republic of Rhodesia. He previously served as Minister of Finance and Posts (1990—1995) and Leader of the Opposition (1998—2000); prior to that, he taught economics at the University of Rhodesia and was briefly a fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in the United States. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Umzinganwe since 1988.

Biography

Latimer was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia to Denise and Andrew Latimer, a Minnesotan-born schoolteacher and a third-generation Rhodesian politician of English descent, respectively. His father, a member of the United Rhodesia Party, served on the Salisbury city council and was both deeply loved and bitterly hated (depending on who you asked) for his liberal, progressive views on race relations. Unfortunately, Latimer's father died when the boy was less than two years old, leaving his mother a widow.

Latimer had a happy, albeit ordinary and mostly uneventful, childhood. Tall for his age, he excelled in sports, and became captain of the high school rugby team. He excelled academically, graduating at the top of his class, and won a full scholarship to study at the University of Rhodesia, however, he chose instead to join the military, as the country was then in the middle of a bloody civil war, and he felt his allegiance belonged to his nation before himself. He passed the training with flying colors and was assigned to the Rhodesian Air Force. He served in the RhAF for the duration of the war (serving 10 years total), and attained the rank of Wing Commander when he left the military in 1980. For his services, he received the General Service Medal and the Bronze Cross of Rhodesia.

After the war, he enrolled in the University of Rhodesia, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in African History; while there, he met his sweetheart, Eunice Villanueva, a Filipino-Rhodesian; they married in 1983. Upon earning his bachelor degree, he went on to earn a Master of Science in Economics at the University of Mandragora; he obtained the latter in 1986. He spent six months in 1987 as a fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.